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| I'm getting a butterfly bush from Bluestone Perennials and trying to decide which one to get. I like the looks of Miss Molly, Miss Ruby or Peach Cobbler. Has anyone had any experience growing these? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 15:03
| On second thought, if you know of a better variety of butterfly bush than these, that would be great too. |
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- Posted by linlily z5/6PA (jakey915@comcast.net) on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 16:08
| I don't grow any of the ones you are looking at. I do have Royal Red, Black Knight, Dubonnet,Pink Delight, and one that was here when we moved in that has lilac flowers. I really like the vivid colors on Black Knight and Royal Red. Royal Red is not a red but a deep, deep rose. Black Knight is very dark and looks wonderful with colorful perennials in a mixed bed. I'm really partial to Black Knight because I like the color of the flowers and it is very fragrant. Linda |
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| I grew Summer Beauty which I love. It's a shorter cultivar, reaching between 5-6' and the color is a deep, rich pink. Here it is, just coming into bloom:
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| I have Peacock and Dark Knight. Love the color of both, especially the Dark Knight - such a rich, vibrant deep purple. I have seen Miss Ruby and really like the color of her, also. Black Knight is taller than Peacock. What I do not like are the dwarf cultivars (e.g. Blue Chip) - the flowers look so stubby, can't compare to the long, graceful, panicles of traditional buddleia. |
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- Posted by trovesoftrilliums 5 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 0:28
| Great question. I have been debating a butterfly bush too. Thanks for the great pic a2z. I have two basic purples and the flowers seem to fade into the background. Do you all have problems with reseeding? Does dark knight stand out from a distance? |
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- Posted by GreatPlains1 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 1:36
| delete post |
This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 3:51
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 2:20
| I ordered an 'Adonis Blue' which should be a really dark almost navy blue and I ended up with the flower below. I was sent a replacement twice, and this is still what I ended up with again. I really like the length and shape of the flower, and it is fragrant, but I wanted something darker. So I don't even know which Butterfly Bush this is. One thing I really like about it, is that the flowers are longer lasting then the first one I had, which I don't have the name of either. I also have Peacock which has a nice fat flower but almost the same color and it is one of the dwarf sizes. a2zmom, your bush is very pretty and so 'bushy'. Mine is more open and has fewer branches in it's second year and I've cut it back to the ground each spring. Do you tip prune or did it just grow that way naturally? I've had Butterfly Bush for about 10 years and have never seen a seedling in my garden. Thanks for the 'Lochinich' idea, Great Plains. I guess the color is close to what I have and I'm looking for a color that will be more noticeable. Like trovesoftrilliums, this one blends into the surrounding flowers and is not as noticeable. I guess it doesn't help that I've planted it near Perovskia which has similar color foliage. I don't like 'Blue Chip' either mxk3. I was just thinking, there should be blooming butterfly bushes at the nurseries. Maybe I should make the rounds this weekend and see what I can find. |
This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 2:22
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| Does anyone have experience with the Buzz series? They're supposed to be smallish but with the same grace as the full-sized buddleias. I'm looking for a shrub under 4' to fill a space in a narrow bed. Thanks, |
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| Cheryl, I really liked "Flutterby Petite Blue Heaven". I planted a not so wonderful specimen in May 2012 and by sometime in July it had developed into a well shaped bloom machine. It did not survive my winter but I have never had a BB bush make it. I think I know what I might have done wrong this time but in the end I decided not to replace it with another. (Now that I think of it I believe esteemed GW member Kevin is growing it for the first time this season) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Petite Blue Heaven
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| Rouge - thank you for the information and link. There is so much conflicting opinion on small buddleias. I've seen the Flutterby series in local nurseries so I know I can get it. Buddleias are supposed to do well in my area. Cheryl |
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- Posted by linlily z5/6PA (jakey915@comcast.net) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 12:55
| I'm curious to find out if the smaller varieties are less hardy for some reason. I lost two here in western PA, a two year old Pink Delight, and a Nanho Purple, a dwarf variety. The year I lost the Pink Delight was back in the early 90's when we were still having awful winters. Now, we never go far in the minus degree temperatures. I lost the Nanho about 10 years ago at a different house. The ones I grow now at this house are all really big plants and they are all 5 to 8 years old. Just curious.... Linda |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 15:00
| I got out to a nursery today and saw a few butterfly bushes in bloom. They had "Peacock', 'Royal Red', 'Black Knight', 'Miss Molly', 'Nanho Purple' and the 'Blue Chip' with the tiny little blunted flowers. They also had 'Adonis Blue' which still didn't look like the photos I've seen of it. I found them in gallon size with the shrubs and was not sure if I wanted any. I thought all the flowers looked small. The 'Black Knight' really was the darker of the purples and the flower size was long but thin. So I went to find something in the perennials section and I stumbled upon butterfly bushes in quarts there. There was one with HUGE pink blossoms, like a butterfly bush on steroids and it was called 'Pink Delight' which was a pale pink. I just couldn't leave that one there, I'd never seen such large flowers on Buddleia. And they had a qt size 'Black Knight' so I brought that home too. So I will keep the 'Pink Delight' but I'm still debating on the 'Black Knight'. I'm going to look at a few more nurseries to make sure there isn't another one I want. I did decide I didn't want any of the others, I have 'Peacock', 'Miss Molly' has smaller flowers than I wanted, 'Blue Cliip' and maybe 'Nanho Purple' had those blunted flowers. So that was a fruitful trip.
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| I'm another one who loves the color and scent of Black Knight. But it's become a Murphy's Law plant for me.... For years I tried to grow it and it never made it through the winter, so I concluded it was a wimpy one that I could safely plant (in 2007) beside a Japanese wisteria 'tree' to fill in space until the tree/vine got taller/older. Of course Black Knight decided THAT was the perfect spot for it! Now I'm trying my best to get rid of it without damaging the wisteria. I'm not familiar with the ones you listed PM2, so I'll have to look those up. Where are you going to plant it - i.e. what are its companions and what effect do you want it to have? I have a big (BIG!) butterfly bush in the front bed that I wanted to use to add height to the bed. So we don't cut it down as far as recommended in spring. We only cut it down to 3' or so. When the new growth gets to be about 3' tall, we cut that back by 1/2-1/3 to force the sideshoots to develop to make a dense, bushy top. As the flowers start fading we keep it deadheaded to continue to force the sideshoots to develop and flower. That keeps it in bloom for a long time. This spring we also edited out some of the younger, thinner stems, leaving the more sturdy woody tree-like stems to enhance the tree-like presence of the plant. A pink clematis climbs into it and blooms in late spring. This is what it looks like today: It can be fun to 'break'/ignore the pruning 'rules' if you have a different vision of what you want the plant to do and butterfly bush is easy to play with :-) We have a smaller pale blue one on the south side of the driveway. It's not nearly as interesting as this one. |
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| Mine has reseeded exaxtly twice and I've had the plant for ten years. But I normally mulch and and a pretty diligent deadheader. I don't tip prune, just wack it down to about a foot in spring. The leaves have a silver cast so all in all, it's a very pretty, very graceful bush. Last year it didn't get pruned so it bloomed much earlier and it was huge. Not tall so much as really wide.
A bit monsterous imo. |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 19:10
| Woody, I know the ‘Black Knight’ is a very popular variety. I was expecting a nice dark blue flower, but this is a little bit violet, but darker than any of the others. I love what you did to yours. It makes quite a focal point that way. And it’s nice and dense from that second cutting. I like it that way. I do deadhead mine faithfully. Where do I want to plant it and with which companions? Well…I’m the type of gardener who wants a plant, buys a plant, then thinks about what to do with it. (g) Gets me in a lot of trouble too. I’m going to have to think about that for awhile. A2zmom, I’m like you, I want that shrub to keep on pushing out more blooms so I keep it deadheaded. That’s probably why I don’t get any seedlings either. |
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| PM2 - I looked up the ones you named initially and they're all small ones. I've tried a couple of the small ones but they get engulfed by the taller, dense plantings in my beds and disappear! So you need to think about that issue when placing them.... |
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| Prairiemoon- your Adonis blue looks just like mine. It's my least favorite in bloom and least vigorous. Still keep it around though. Black knight, royal red are both favorites, both full sized bushes and both have a more open growth. Pink delight is a denser, fuller bush, and slightly smaller, but still a good sized bush and I like it well enough. I also have a white dwarfish one whos name I can't remember right now..... It's ok but I feel like the old blooms really stand out more as brown and dirty compared to the other colors. I get seedlings around the yard on exposed, bare soil, and strangely enough most turn out white and on the shorter side.... I don't get it since my mother has a couple and the seedlings of her's are weedy and huge, usually with a washed out color. |
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- Posted by eclecticcottage 6b wny (My Page) on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 9:32
| I have a velvet buzz (red). LOVE them, this is year #2 so they aren't well established yet but the colors are great. I also have blue chip, which I don't love. Year #2 for them also, and they don't even have buds yet much less flowers. Another smaller variety I have that I love is Purple Emperor, of the English butterfly series-my earliest and most prolific bloomer. I also have Black Knight, which is a nice plant.. I have a yellow and bicolor, both are ok but not amazing (yellow has odd shaped blooms and bicolor just doesn't look as good when the bottom of the blom starts dying off), and an NOID "red" (Might be royal red or one of the "Miss"-miss molly or ruby) which blooms a little later but has grown quickly. Then there's the 90 or so light purple ones from the county, also NOID that are on year #2 from bare root "sticks" and are starting to bloom this year. Not a fan of the lighter color. I still want a white one, but I don't have space for a big one like White Profusion. If I was to add any more of the ones I have, Velvet Buzz would be my #1 choice. I will say that the hummingbirds and butterflies don't seem to care and visit all of them, although Black Knight and the NOID red seem to be the slight favorites for the hummers (maybe the color is the reason? Who knows). |
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| eclectic - thank you for the Buzz report. Did you see other colors? I'm thinking of Ivory which would fit into the bed I'm working on. Most of the Buzz colors are in the purple/magenta/lavender color range. Cheryl |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 13:30
| kato, I can't help but wonder if the 'Adonis Blue' was an inferior variety and doesn’t live up to the photos that were released for it. All the photos I’ve ever seen of it are of an inky blue, almost navy blue. I think my original Buddleia is a seedling because the flowers are not very large, attractive, or long lasting. I’d never heard of the Buzz Buddleias, so thanks for that report on them, eclecticcottage. Woody, you make a very good point about placement. I sometimes get so enamored with a particular plant that I’m happy with it on it’s merits alone and then later I realize in the overall picture of a border, I’m dissatisfied with it’s placement. I don’t think Butterfly bushes are easy to fit into a design. I like the way you have used yours. I’m sure my sunny spaces are less than yours, so I try to squeeze too much into them. I would like to hear about how others have used their buddleias in their over all design. I am just sticking mine in with a lot of other full sun perennials and especially next to a Perovskia, it is getting lost. It's a little dark out there, but at least it stopped raining, so here are the flowers on the ‘Pink Delight’ and the ‘Black Knight’… |
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- Posted by Sammywillt NC IOWA . 4 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 16:05
| What a bunch of lucky ducks... I have tried for many many years to grow Buddleia , it just won't over winter for me :( |
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| Don't get me started 'Sammy'. They grow and bloom wonderfully for me in the summer, in even only one season. But then I can never get them to return the next spring :(. I know all about good drainage and no pruning until it arises late in the spring but still no luck re. survival. |
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| I hit pay dirt this morning when I stopped by Lowes. They had Flutterby Petite in Snow White which is the color I wanted. It was on the 50% off table, so even if it turns out to be a dud, I haven't spent a lot. I think buddleias must do well here, judging from the number I see everywhere, in full glorious bloom from spring to fall. Most are the full sized varieties - 6' and higher. I hope my bush does as well. Cheryl |
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| prairiemoon, you were wondering how people incorpoarte butterfly bushes in their garden? Here's a wide shot of my garden from August, 2011. The buddleia is pretty much in the center back. Keep in mind that is a shorter cultivar than most.
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- Posted by trovesoftrilliums 5 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 27, 13 at 20:35
| Oh thanks all for posting pics. Lovely planting a2z! |
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| Thanks troves1 I'm going to be making some changes to it this fall, but I guess that's the way of all gardeners. |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 1:41
| Sorry to hear that zone 4 doesn’t allow for butterfly bushes. I wonder if you ever tried to grow it in a pot and winter it over? Maybe not the same effect, but…. Cheryl, good luck with your new Flutterby. a2zmom, Great border. I like the way you used the Buddleia to anchor that bed. I bet it gives you some privacy from the street. I change my front bed every year, pretty much…lol. But in my own defense, I think the bed kind of changes itself every year and I just respond. (g) |
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| I am growing 'Petite Blue Heaven' for the first time this year. Since this is the first buddleia I've tried in many, many years I really have nothing to compare it to, but if it does survive the winter I'll try more in the future. I like it although clearly I can't give my final judgement until another year has passed and I can see what potential it has. So far, because of its small size, it would be difficult to compare it to any of the standard, larger buddleias. In fact, because of the small size it really doesn't look like a shrub, but more like another perennial in my garden. It certainly lacks the arching grace of the larger ones. That may change with time. I'll see. prairiemoon - Yes, I have tried these in pots overwintered inside. I have an old coal cellar in my basement which doesn't freeze, but stays very cold in the winter - perfect for overwintering plants that want a cold, winter rest. I gave up after a couple of years. The plant was in a largish pot, but still I don't think it was large enough for the buddleia to really do well. It came back each spring, but didn't really do all that well. Maybe a much, much larger pot would have worked better, but that becomes difficult to deal with carrying it up and down the basement stairs in spring and fall. It was simply too much of an unpleasant chore for me to consider it worthwhile. Maybe it would work better to grow it in the garden and then dig, wrap the rootball in plastic and store inside for winter. Some people do this with brugmansia. To me it sounds like a very unpleasant chore, but if you're a person who doesn't mind the work, who knows? Kevin I'll try to remember to post a photo later today assuming it warms up and I don't have to put on a snowsuit to go outside. Good grief! It's in the 40's this morning! Weird, weird summer! |
This post was edited by aachenelf on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 7:26
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| I think the bed kind of changes itself every year and I just respond. (g) prairiemoon, how true that is! |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 9:12
| Kevin, the more I think about overwintering a Buddleia, the more it seems like a waste. I am a little prejudice though, because I have stopped trying to overwinter anything, lol. I don’t have a perfect place to do it and the chore of bringing everything in each fall was too much and I got smart and said no more. I am very happy with that decision. And there would be no way I would dig up a shrub and pot it up every fall to bring it in. Plus, in the case of Buddleia, in my experience, it takes a few years in the ground before it really starts to come into it’s own. After having said that, I realize I bought a standard Gardenia this spring to put in a pot for the summer which I will be attempting to winter over. lol Good luck with your ‘Petite Blue Heaven’. I love the name, I hope it lives up to it for you. I have the a/c on this morning, Kevin. Definitely an odd summer here too, though. |
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| OK, I just went out to the garden to photograph my 'Petite Blue Heaven' and the current blooming is long past prime. It would not be a good example of what this one looks like in bloom. There are a lot of buds forming, so hopefully I'll remember to post when it looks better. Kevin |
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| Kevin - how big and wide is your Petite Blue Heaven. I'm planting Flutterby Petite Snow White and the size listed is "2 - 3' wide and 2-3' high". That's quite a big range. Thanks, |
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| Cheryl Right now, it's about 18 inches tall and about 2 feet wide, but I just planted it in May and when I got it, it was in maybe a 4 inch pot. I must say, it's done a lot of growing in a short amount of time, but not enough to say what it might be like next year. It certainly is blooming much more than I thought it would for the first year. This next blooming which is just forming now looks like it will be heavy. Kevin |
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| Cheryl, hree are two pictures of my Petite Blue Heaven from last season. As I had wrote in another post it grew spectacularly in its first year. I got it as a mail order plant in May and I put it in the ground also in May. Even though it was small it began to bloom in late July and grew larger than I expected. Here are two pictures...one on July 26 2012 and the other in early October 2012 (as luck would have it it looked best in August for which I have no pictures).
From May 2012 until October 2012 it grew to 3 feet in width and probably a bit more in height. |
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| Rouge - thank you for the pictures. Do you take photos of everything in your garden? It's a good way to keep records. I see what Kevin means by saying they don't have the grace of the big buddleias, but are very satisfying in their own way. I don't know how my climate will affect growth. We have a lot of sunshine, but very dry conditions. I planted mine in front of honeysuckle Goldflame, and behind Anouk lavender. Everything looks pitifully small with lots of bare ground right now. Cheryl |
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| Butterfly bushes do just fine with lots of sun and minimal water. I without reservation recommend this particular compact variety. |
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| I've overwintered "Peacock" in a pot a couple years now - performs very well, but doesn't get very big, as obviously it's limited by pot size. One bonus, though, is that it blooms earlier than other BB's, since it breaks dormancy earlier in the spring. It's on my patio, where I can enjoy the scent as I walk by. I love, love, LOVE the scent of BB's! Even if BB's don't overwinter in your zone, they're not expensive to replace when/if needed and easily available at garden centers, often nice large, robust plants loaded with blooms are less than the price of dinner for two :0) |
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| Cheryl said: "I see what Kevin means by saying they don't have the grace of the big buddleias, but are very satisfying in their own way." I completely agree and am happy I have this one. In particular, I really like the foliage color. Better yet, when I was looking at my plant, there was a butterfly feeding on the flowers which is why I guess they're called "Butterfly Bush". I've seen so few butterflies this season it was really nice to see one here. Kevin |
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- Posted by eclecticcottage 6b wny (My Page) on Sun, Aug 4, 13 at 21:29
| My Velvet Buzz |
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| Not sure if this is the right board to post my question, but I love my butterfly bush and you all seem to love yours. I'm working on redesigning or cleaning up my garden. I don't know what to put in it. I am not really good an design and learn as I go. I'll try and post pictures but will have to put in multiple posts. Keep in mind we had to have our retaining wall redone so we had to cut some plants down to make way for the wheelbarrow. The garden is south facing in zone 5 NY. The BB and ornamental grass stays. Right now I have purple coneflower, black eyed Susan's, Shasta daisies, day lilies (have to go, I don't like them), had some bee balm that didn't do well, and some balloon flowers. Bare spot in this picture is where my daisies and some more black eyed Susan are. The garden is seen from all sides. Please help. |
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| Coneflowers in this picture seeded themselves there. |
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| Bottom of stairs. A2zmom I love your front garden. What do you have in it? |
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| Sorry so many picture but I couldn't get it all in one or two photos. This is the opposite side. |
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| One last one. |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 8:44
| Natalie, I think people have stopped posting to this thread, but they do love to help with this kind of question. I think if you post this again to a new thread asking for help in the subject line, you will get a lot. Pretty setting! |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 8:45
| Natalie, I think people have stopped posting to this thread, but they do love to help with this kind of question. I think if you post this again to a new thread asking for help in the subject line, you will get a lot. Pretty setting! |
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| Thanks prairiemoon2. I post a new thread. |
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