Plant Delights Nursery strives to offer a nice selection of distinct butterfly bush (Buddleia; alt. Buddleja) cultivars for sale. These include a wide range of flower colors including white, yellow, pink, magenta, bicolor and the ubiquitous purple / blue butterfly bush. We offer several Buddleia davidii cultivars with their typical cone-shaped flower panicles as well as some more unusual Buddleia species with their yellow and orange globe-shaped flowers or vine-like habit.
Read More About Buddleia
The genus Buddleia has an alternate spelling, Buddleja, that is commonly used in the United Kingdom. Don't let the 'j' fool you, Buddleja is pronounced the exact same way as Buddleia (BUD-lee-uh or Buddle-EEE-ya). For you trivia nerds, Buddleia / Buddleja is named for a Brittish taxonomist by the name of Adam Buddle. The use of both Buddleja and Buddleia is an artifact of medeival versions of Latin that used 'j' and 'i' interchangably. We prefer Buddleia because it looks better than Buddleja and doesn't make us go cross-eyed. The species Buddleia davidii is named for another taxonomist, P.A. David, who first discovered this species in China.
PDN is proud to offer the latest butterfly bush hybrids from renowned breeders such as Dr. Dennis Werner of N.C. State University including his award winning selections, Miss Molly, Miss Ruby, Lo and Behold and Blue Chip Butterfly Bush. Recent trends in butterfly bush breeding include improvements over Buddleia davidii in flower color and shape (especially with red butterfly bushes and yellow butterfly bushes), sterility, and a reduction in plant size. The newest dwarf butterfly bush cultivars are small enough to use in containers or as groundcover plants.
We recommend that you prune your butterfly bush to around 12" tall every spring for the best performance. We like to use butterfly bushes near a path where the honey fragrance of the blooms is evident as we stroll by and where we can observe the tremendous numbers of butterflies and hummingbirds that flock to the flowers. Buddleia are deer-resistant too.
Butterfly bushes prefer full sun and while they are drought tolerant, slightly moist soils produce the happiest plants. Pests like spider mites seem to attack butterfly bushes only when they are stressed due to a poor growing environment. If you keep your buddleia happy and healthy, pests should not be a problem. For those of you in colder climates, select cultivars of Buddleia davidii as it is the hardiest. Some states list Buddleia davidii as a weed because they are unusually prolific in certain areas. If you live in one of these places (Oregon, Washington), try growing some of the newer hybrid Buddleia davidii selections that are mostly sterile. When you are ready to buy buddleia (butterfly bush) for your garden, check out our list of buddleia for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
This hot new deer-resistant, hummingbird-friendly buddleia is a seedling from UGA's guru of woody plants, Dr. Mike Dirr. The plant was eventually named by Ted Stephens of Nurseries Caroliniana. Buddleia 'Attraction' flowers towards the red spectrum and is a dramatic improvement over Buddleia 'Royal Red'. This is a tremendous breakthrough in butterfly bush breeding--and who knows...perhaps it will attract redder butterflies. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
(aka Buddleia 2004-09) We are excited to offer the first butterfly bush from the breeding program of Dr. Dennis Werner of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NCSU. Not only does this hybrid of Buddleia lindleyana, Buddleia 'Nanho Purple', and Buddleia 'Honeycomb' have very low seed set, but Buddleia 'Blue Chip' is one of the most compact buddleias we have trialed. At the UK's Wisley trials it was #2 in public voting after Dennis's Buddleia 'Miss Ruby'. The short internodes produce a compact plant that stays at 1-2' tall in the first season, and with an annual rejuvenation (beheading) it remains 2-3' tall. Unpruned plants will eventually reach 4' in height. Buddleia 'Blue Chip' is adorned through the summer with short spikes of lavender-blue...a perfect deer-resistant plant fit for small spaces and great for low-flying butterflies and hummingbirds. Unlike most material sold, these are foliar nematode free. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
What started as a stray seedling in the former New York (Seneca Hill) garden of Ellen Hornig took the gardening world by storm. Buddleia 'Ellen's Blue' makes a compact 4' tall deer-resistant bush, smothered all summer in terminal spikes of blue-violet flowers (RHS 89D)...a hummingbird treat. This unique color in buddleias, combined with its extraordinary fragrant flowers, make this one of the best new butterfly bush introductions...9 out of 10 butterflies choose Buddleia 'Ellen's Blue'...we agree! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Buddleia 'Evil Ways' is a stunning Sean Hogan butterfly bush selection with bright yellow leaves, that originated at Sean's nursery as a seedling, probably from Buddleia 'Santana'. Buddleia 'Evil Ways' is highlighted throughout the summer with terminal clusters of very dark purple fragrant flower clusters. The color contrast of the flowers and the yellow foliage is simply superb. For us, Buddleia 'Evil Ways' has produced a 4' tall x 5' wide deer-resistant specimen, perfect for some really cool color combinations in the garden...yellow swallowtail butterflies and iridescent hummingbirds are a nice touch. Without question, our favorite new butterfly bush in years! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Available 6-13-2013 From University of Georgia's Dr. Mike Dirr comes this dazzling new introduction that topped the comprehensive buddleia trials held at the University of Georgia several years ago. Buddleia 'Honeycomb' is a hybrid of Buddleia davidii and Buddleia globosa that produced a large butterfly bush that is best described as an improved Buddleia 'Sungold'. The 4-6" long flower panicles are a nice golden yellow and top the deer-resistant clump from mid-June until frost. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
(aka: Buddleia NC2006-10) Buddleia 'Ice Chip' is the latest in a series of compact butterfly bushes from NCSU's Dr. Dennis Werner. Buddleia 'Ice Chip' is a complex hybrid involving Buddleia davidii, Buddleia lindleyana, Buddleia fallowiana, and Buddleia globosa. Because of this complex parentage, Buddleia 'Ice Chip' has shown itself to be both male and female sterile. The result is an amazingly floriferous groundcover butterfly bush that grows to only 2' tall x 4' wide in 3 years, topped all summer with short white floral spikes...fantastic! Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Buddleia 'Lilac Chip' is the latest dwarf butterfly bush from the breeding work of NCSU's Dr. Dennis Werner. Buddleia 'Lilac Chip', which is a complex hybrid containing Buddleia davidii, Buddleia lindleyana, Buddleia globosa, and Buddleia fallowiana, tops out at only 18" tall x 30" wide in two years. The compact clumps are adorned with panicles of fragrant lilac flowers all summer...great for low-flying butterflies! Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
This little-known exotic Chinese native butterfly bush species has shiny green leaves, cinnamon trunks, and graceful 2' long pendulous panicles of medium-lavender flowers in summer...a hummingbird favorite. Our clone of Buddleia lindleyana came from giant specimens in the Bolivia, NC, garden of the late Francis Marion Galloway, where they have grown since the 1860s. Buddleia lindleyana is our only buddleia that is not cut to the ground each year. We have limbed up our specimen as a walk-underneath feature...a truly spectacular species which deserves much wider use. Its only bad habit is being stoloniferous, and that seems to slow slightly with age. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
(aka Buddleia NCSU 2005-008) Good golly, Miss Molly...to quote a line from the old Little Richard favorite. This new hybrid from NCSU plant breeder, Dennis Werner, takes Buddleia 'Miss Ruby' a step closer to the elusive red by crossing it back onto Buddleia 'Attraction'. The fragrant sangria-red flowers top the compact 5' tall clump from July until frost...a treat for hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
Buddleia 'Miss Ruby' (Buddleia 'White Ball' x Buddleia 'Attraction' hybrid) is the second in a series of butterfly bushes from Dr. Dennis Werner of the JC Raulston Arboretum. Buddleia 'Miss Ruby', named in honor of JCRA benefactor Ruby McSwain, makes a compact 6' tall upright deer-resistant hummingbird friendly bush, that only reaches 2-3' in year one, but is topped all summer with the brightest reddish-pink flowers ever produced on a buddleia. In the 2008 trials at the UK's famed Wisley Gardens, Buddleia 'Miss Ruby' was the top public vote-getter from over 100 cultivars worldwide! Celebrate with us by bringing 'Miss Ruby' into your garden. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
"And now for something completely different"...as the Monty Python troupe would say. This wild buddleia hybrid comes from the breeding program of Dr. Jon Lindstrom of the University of Arkansas. Jon combined the genetics of Buddleia stachyoides and Buddleia tubiflora to create an 8' tall deer-resistant butterfly bush that flowers virtually year-round in mild climates with a peak season of fall through spring...a hummingbird hangout. The 1' long terminal spikes of bright orange flowers that open from bottom to top, could easily pass for leonotis. The trunks, which remain woody unless the temperature drops into single digits, are clothed with 11" long verbascum-like fuzzy green leaves...also great for sunrooms since it flowers all winter. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
This hybrid butterfly bush from The Netherlands' Boskoop Experimental Station is absolutely one of the finest "pink" flowered cultivars on the market. The silvery cast to the foliage (especially evident fall through spring) and compact (5' tall x 6' wide) habit combine to make this a truly spectacular deer-resistant buddleia. Buddleia 'Pink Delight' is topped with large 1' long flower heads delighting both butterflies and hummingbirds from June until frost. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
(aka Buddleia NCSU 2005-029) From NCSU plant breeder Dennis Werner, comes an incredibly compact, complex butterfly bush hybrid. By using genes from several species including Buddleia davidii, Buddleia lindleyana, and Buddleia globosa, Buddleia 'Purple Haze' was effectively neutered, so no pesky seedlings will be showing up unexpectedly. In the garden, you'll enjoy a 3' tall x 6'+ wide clump, adorned throughout the summer with an amazing number of drooping inflorescences of medium purple...a favorite of low-flying butterflies and darting hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
We are truly excited about Buddleia 'Summer Skies' after trying so many less than stellar variegated butterfly bushes. Buddleia 'Summer Skies' was developed at the University of Connecticut by Dr. Mark Brand and Dr. William Smith who were able to chemically mutate buddleia seedlings, one of which resulted in Buddleia 'Summer Skies'. In the ground, expect a 4.5' tall shrub with a similar spread, clothed with dark green leaves edged with a wide yellow border that ages to cream. Starting in late spring, the clumps are topped with spikes of light lavender...a great attractant for and subsequent color echo with variegated butterflies!
The large Buddleia 'Bicolor' is still hot and flying off the shelves faster than bread before an approaching snowstorm. Buddleia 'Bicolor' is a Mike Dirr introduction that arose as a seedling of virtually sterile Buddleia 'Honeycomb'. The flowers are an amazing lavender in bud, opening to peachy-pink with a yellow cast as they age. I've grown a lot of butterfly bushes and have seen nothing like this revolutionary introduction. Dazzle all your neighbors, hummingbirds and butterflies with this unique butterfly bush. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
This cute but quirky deer-resistant hybrid butterfly bush, from the famed experiment station in Boskoop, Holland, is better-suited to the rock garden or miniature train landscape than to the border. This rare genetic dwarf makes a tight ball, 4' tall x 4' wide, of greyish foliage topped all summer with miniature spikes of white flowers. Just wait until you see the miniature butterflies and hummingbirds it attracts! Remember, it should only be pruned with miniature clippers and watered with tiny watering cans. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
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