Butterfly Bush - Buddleia davidii

Tiny deep purple flowerets with a bit of orange in the center form a huge cluster at the end of long leafy stems, drawing in butterflies and hummingbirds, moths and bees... that is Black Knight Buddleia. The first Butterfly Bush I planted was in my garden in Connecticut, where it bloomed happily from early summer until frost. It drew occasional hummingbirds, and even hummingbird moths (yes, there are such things!) and plenty of Monarch butterflies. I now have 3 planted in my new garden in California, and love to sit on the deck in the afternoon sunshine, watching the hummingbirds zip in, hover, gather nectar, and zip away. (photo above was taken from my deck) They will reach 10 ft high with about a 6 ft spread. The leaves are gray-green and kind of fuzzy. If you like an open habit with bobbing, colorful flowers of incredible depth of color, this shrub is for you. It will die off in areas that get frost, but will come back year after year.


I deadhead the spent flowers, and give it a shot of fertilizer in the spring. It does like to be watered, and here in California, I give it regular irrigation. In Connecticut, it would thrive on the rain we got in the summer. There are many sizes and flower colors available, depending on the variety. I've seen pink, white, and lighter purple colors. They are easily pruned to desired shape, and can even be trained to just a few stems, just keep an eye on suckers. There are no pests that bother it, but I have to say that in early spring this year, I noticed some of the leaves were gnarled/curled with a sticky substance in between. I removed those leaves, and the plant is fine. It is more or less maintenance-free.

The deep purple blooms are a real focal point in the garden, and I love pairing the shrub with annuals of contrasting colors. I add pots in my gardens to plant something neat or unique, and because it's usually an annual, I can change it up when the flowers die back.
One hint to keep this from happening is to be dedicated in deadheading. A flower's natural cycle is to bloom and produce seed as the bloom dies. If you deadhead, you don't give it a chance to make the seed (or to expend the extra energy to do so), and it keeps blooming. Also, I give every planted pot a shot of water soluble fertilizer twice a month. Potting soil has few nutrients and they get washed out every time the plant is watered, which could be daily. I've had good luck with geraniums this spring/summer by doing this, and they've put on an incredible show which is still going!