Mop Top Fountain Butterfly Bush
Buddleia alternifolia

Height: 12 feet
Spread: 12 feet
Sunlight: Full sun
Hardiness Zone: 5b
Other Names: Fountain Butterfly Bush, Weeping Butterfly Bush

Description:
A sizeable garden shrub with showy purple-blue flowers in late summer when little else is blooming. It attracts butterflies and can be treated as a perennial by cutting it back to the ground each spring, where it regrows vigorously and blooms on new wood.

Ornamental Features:
Alternate Leaf Butterfly Bush features showy panicles of fragrant lilac-purple flowers at the ends of the branches from mid summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has green deciduous foliage, and the fuzzy narrow leaves do not develop any notable fall color.

Landscape Attributes:
Alternate Leaf Butterfly Bush is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but is not particularly attractive to deer. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Alternate Leaf Butterfly Bush is recommended for the following landscape applications:
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting

Planting & Growing:
Alternate Leaf Butterfly Bush will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It tends to be slightly leggy, with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations and performs well under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular about soil type or pH and can tolerate environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally native to North America.

Alternate Leaf Butterfly Bush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape and is also well suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit make it ideal as a solitary accent or surrounded by smaller plants and trailing companions. It is sizeable enough to be grown alone in a suitable container. Plants grown in containers may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag and typically require more frequent watering than those grown in the landscape.