The butterfly bush is a semi-evergreen upright shrub or small specimen tree in the Fabaceae family native to South America, from Panama south to Venezuela and Colombia, and the West Indies. While other trees are dormant in the fall and winter, butterfly bush is showing off with bright yellow flowers that appear at a time of year when little else is in bloom. This plant is a stunning addition to any sunny landscape. The butterfly bush generally recovers if hit by a hard frost. When this occurs, the stems should be cut off at ground level before spring. In the spring, vigorous sprouts will emerge from the roots. If the roots freeze, it will likely kill the plant. Mulching around the roots helps keep the frost from killing the plants. Frequent pinching of the young shoot tips or pruning during the growing season up to the beginning of September encourages branching and increases the number of flowers. The bush grows best in sunny locations and tolerates clay, sand, loam well-drained soils which are acidic or slightly alkaline. Needs little care once established but occasionally requires watering during periods of drought. It has a scrambling growth habit. If you want to keep it in check, trim it after the plant has finished blooming, to prevent it from sprawling. Propagation is by seed or stem cutting. The butterfly bush is a host plant for the Clousless sulpher ( Phoebis sennae ) Butterfly. Before the butterflies emerge, foliage and flower buds are often eaten by the caterpillars in the fall, but these can be easily picked off by hand. They are a little elusive as the caterpillars turn green when eating leaves, yellow when eating flowers. Trees often fall over and will require staking to hold them upright. For this reason, it is easiest to place it in a shrub border among other shrubs that will provide support, or up against a wall or fence. It is well worth the effort to stake a specimen tree since the tree is simply stunning in flower. It can also be placed in a highway median since it needs little care. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Foliage and flower buds are often eaten by the caterpillars of the Cloudless Sulpher Butterfly. Otherwise, they have no serious insect problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
Mature size
Height: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in. | Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Irregular; Multi-stemmed; Open
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Semi-evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Obovate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Pinnately compound leaves, with alternate three to five pairs of dark green, obovate leaflets, 1.5 inches long.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Light yellow to deep golden yellow buttercup-shaped flowers, 0.5 inch wide, with prominent curved stamens, appearing in large sprays, over a long period in fall and winter.
Bloom time
Fall; Winter
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
> 3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Brown slender pods, up to 6 inches long.
Bark color
Green; Light Brown
Bark detail
Typically, multi-trunked with drooping branches that are susceptible to breakage.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Northern South America
Distribution
Panama south to Venezuela and Colombia, and also the West Indies. In the U.S., it grows on the west coast of California, lower desert of Arizona, south Texas, south Louisiana and most of Florida except the panhandle.