Hi there butterfly bush lovers! Im back from a years absence so i thought i would resurrect this old thread of mine and continue with my appreciation of the butterfly bush. I wasnt around for a bit but my love for these never went away... Im happy to say that my 11 butterfly bushes in my backyard are doing well and healthier than ever! last year the butterflies and bee's really had a nice time with the flowers, and anything i can do to help out nature i will. Its also nice that nature helps me back by bringing the bee's to pollinate my nearby crops I will be posting some pics of the new growth on the bushes in my yard. I think this year is gonna be the best ever due to their maturity level and the feeding i have given them. Just for reminder, i have 8 black knights, 2 white profusions, and 1 light purple one that im not exactly sure what is called. Will post pics up soon... G_N
Nice to see you back after a year's absence, GN. It will be nice to see how the butterfly bushes have grown in that time too.
thanks DaisyB, tis really good to be back and motivated again.. Hey Cherylad what type did you plant? Heres a few pics of mine. I didnt cut them back as short this year, probably around 2ft. Heres my line of 9 Black Knights.....well actually 8 Black Knights and 1 White Profusion as one was mislabeled as a BK but i left it in there. She is all the way 2nd from the right, you cant really see her here but her size is smaller and growth not as fast. That might be due to light received at the bottom of the yard or just genetics. I like to call her the Queen and she has 8 Black Knights to guard her. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) My roadside fence, poor thing just got damaged...thats why there is a hole there i have to fix.. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) This is my oldest and biggest butterfly bush, its the light purple one....i hope someone here can identify it better for me when it blooms. This was gifted to me from my sis's yard and hers still grows in her yard too. You can see the lovely bee's balm growing to the left. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) The kids play next to a single White Profusion specimen located on the edge of the yard to my neighbors. Our super exercise machine is to the right behind the kids. We often lay on there and watch the insects from there on the Profusion. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) Another shot of the knights, you can see their queen which is the 2nd from the right. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) The light purple.. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) Single white profusion.. ( photo / image / picture from Green_Numb's Garden ) Ive fed them a bit with some black kow and bonemeal, i need to de-weed them and mulch as well. More pics when they progress a bit. Im looking to hopefully get hold of a red butterfly bush and i really want a yellow Honeycomb variety too. The blooms on the yellow one are awesomely different! G_N
I bet you have a yard full of butterflies with those beauties! I don't remember which variety I planted. I believe it was some shade of purple. I'll have to look through my box of plant tags and see for sure.
Here's our butterfly bush. We planted it last year and it had purple flowers. I'm wondering how far up last years wood the bush will begin to sprout growth. As you can see there is already a bunch of new growth at the base. Year old butterfly bush with purple, fragrant blooms ( photo / image / picture from SevenTooMany's Garden )
my son standing in front of my butterfly bush before bloom time. ( photo / image / picture from cindjo717's Garden ) My butterfly bush is all the way in the back. ( photo / image / picture from cindjo717's Garden )
Cindjo.... those are so pretty darn healthy looking butterfly bushes! If I were a butterfly, I'd head straight to your house. :-D
Hi guys its been a while..... Thought I would update some of my old threads since I'm back again. Ok now to figure out pic upload via mobile.....hmmm... Ok here we go...... Here is the first purple bush I planted and still going strong. All my bb bushes have been cut back and fed already. They are responding well! This is a white proffusion that might be the biggest overall in my yard at full growth. Probably has a lot to do with placement. Looks like it will be even bigger this year.....it gets covered in butterflies, bees, and moths each year and sits near my main garden area. This guy here is my first to bloom this year. Just started a few days ago. Just starting to come in. These 2 here don't get that big but I think it's due to placement. Not enough sun. Here are the line of black knights....and one white proffusion. Lastly we have a Honeycomb transplant. Moved this guy a month or so back from a spot that didn't get enough sun. I wasnt sure if it would make it as its leaves dropped for a while but it has picked up and is showing perk! The yellow Honeycomb varieties are my fave and I know this guy will love this sunny spot. I would love to see some other folks Butterfly Bushes if anyone would like to share! They are awesome plants! Oh and thanks cindjo and seventomany for the pics. I know they are old now but I wonder how these plants are doing 5 years later...
Was taking a few blossum pics..... and found a lil guy waiting for his lunch! Can't do close ups on cell but this guy knew I was trying to get his pic. He kept shifting around when i got close. Sneaky Assassin Bug....
Heeeeeelp! I just noticed yesterday that one of my butterfly bushes is not looking good. I'm thinking I may have overfed? I usually don't even feed these guys and they do great. What did I do!
Ok well I'm feeling a bit better about what is going on with the butterfly bushes. As far as I can tell its not an overfeeding issue but a parasite one. Someone please take a look at this leaf and give me some ideas. Not sure if its spider mites or what but I see this fine webbing underneath the leaves and dots of something. I can't see anything moving though. I've never had mites before.....can anyone recognise this problem? Its also spreading to other butterfly bushes! I'm guessing neem spray might help? I've never used before..... Someone......... anyone..........
I really have no idea. I don't like Butterfly bushes and ripped mine out. The smell just gets to me. But the leaves do look like there is an insect issue. I would spray soapy water first as a knock down ( get a 2 or 3 gallon pressure sprayer, that works best or a hose end sprayer). don't rinse it off either. then go for ladybugs or greenlace wings if you can find some. If not then go for an insecticide if you need to, but be aware neem is not a knock down one. I works by interrupting their life cycle/mating cycle and kills them off by interrupting that. nor will it hurt the ladybugs or lacewings to my knowledge. only the chewing ones unless you spray it directly in the ladybugs.
Hmmm I've never noticed a smell from my bushes before. The flowers on mine just mainly look pretty but I've heard some varieties have strronger scents than others. Maybe you are referring to the green growth plant smell? Does it matter what kind of soap u use? I'd rather go buy something than put the wrong one on ya know. Thanks for all the info I really appreciate it. I'm going to get some neem oil as well just in case its could help. Here's hoping I can get this under control.... Oh heres a quick pic from one of my bb bushes upfront......shes safe from the infestation right now....such pretty flowers and colour arrangement on this one. Its definitely getting cloned this year!
