![]() Dispose of the flowerheads in a controlled manner. If you already have Butterfly Bush as a planting, and do not want to remove it, you should prevent the spread out of your garden by removing old flowerheads in the fall prior to seed dispersal. ![]() Branches left on the ground can root into new shrubs. You must dispose of any plant material completely, by burning or putting out in the garbage. Areas around the removal site should be planted with a native ground cover to prevent future seedling germination. The roots must be removed or they will re-sprout. It is possible to uproot and dig out mature specimens. Controlīutterfly Bush can be difficult to manage once it has been established. Click here to find more ideas for butterfly plantings. Favorites of butterflies include Blazing Star ( Liatris) Purple Coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea) Giant Hyssop ( Agastache) Joe-Pye Weed ( Eutrochium) species and Milkweed ( Asclepias) species. You can also plant drifts of tall native perennials. For wetter soils, try Buttonbush ( Cephalanthis occidentalis)-a food source for moths-or New Jersey Tea ( Ceanothus americanus). For sunny, open garden or landscape plantings, try Sweet Pepperbush, also called Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) or Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica). Native substitutes for Butterfly Bushīutterfly on a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).Instead of planting Butterfly Bush, select a native flowering shrub appropriate for your site that is attractive to pollinators. Without caterpillars, birds will not survive. Without caterpillars, there will be no adult butterflies. Those vanished native shrubs were essential food sources for caterpillars. It establishes in sunny, well-drained sites including fields, roadsides, woods edges, and riverbanks, where native shrubs would have grown. But its high reproductive success and dispersal means that Butterfly Bush replaces native shrubs outside the garden, in natural areas. If Butterfly Bush were just a pretty garden shrub, it would be less of a concern. Not a single native caterpillar eats Butterfly Bush leaves. However, butterflies need host plants on which to lay eggs and on which their caterpillars feed. ![]() It attracts butterflies because it provides copious nectar. Negative Impactsīutterfly Bush benefits pollinators but only at one stage of their life cycle. These seeds can remain viable for three to five years in soil, and any cut stems can sprout again. ![]() The germination rate is about 80 percent or above. The shrub reaches maturity quite quickly, often producing extremely lightweight, winged seeds within the first year of growth, which travel far distances by way of water or wind. A study at Longwood Gardens found that there were over 40,000 seeds on a single flower spike. It excels at seed production and dispersal. Reproductionīutterfly Bush is extremely successful at reproduction, giving it a competitive advantage over native flowering shrubs. Varieties bred for the garden are typically purple or they may have pink, blue, magenta, yellow or maroon blooms. The wild-origin species is white-flowered with orange or yellow centers. Flowers form drooping or upright spikes at the end of branches. Butterfly Bush blooms from mid-summer to early fall. The opposite-growing leaves, 5-10 inches long, have jagged edges. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Identificationīutterfly Bush is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 15 feet high. Butterfly Bush infestation in natural area.
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