7 Non-Invasive Butterfly Bush Varieties for a Guilt-Free Garden
Ah, the butterfly bush. A plant so divisive it could run for office. On one side, you've got its diehard fans raving about clouds of butterflies, season-long color, deer resistance, and the fact that it practically grows itself. On the other, the finger-waggers pointing out its invasive tendencies. And honestly? They're both right.
I'm not here to referee this garden drama. But if you love the look of butterfly bush and want all the butterfly action without the baggage, you're in exactly the right place.
These seven non-invasive butterfly bush varieties have been bred by plant breeders to produce little to no viable seed, so you get the blooms, the butterflies, and a clean conscience.
One more thing before we dig in: all photos in this article are either taken by me in the field or sourced from reputable growers and nurseries.
Already firmly in the "butterfly bush is the enemy" camp? No judgment! Skip ahead to my 10 Best Butterfly Host Plants instead. That's more your style.
A swallowtail butterfly visiting a Miss Molly butterfly bush. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio.
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How Is Butterfly Bush Invasive?
Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is native to China and Japan, not North America. Introduced to the US in the early 1900s, it arrived without the natural checks and balances that kept it in line back home. And it took full advantage. A single shrub can release thousands of tiny, lightweight seeds that travel easily on the wind, landing and germinating in natural areas, roadsides, and stream banks far from your garden. Once established in the wild, it grows fast and crowds out native plants that local wildlife depends on for food and habitat. That's the problem in a nutshell.
Depending on where you live, butterfly bush may be serious enough of a concern that it has been classified as invasive by your state or local government. It's worth taking a few minutes to check whether that applies to your area before you plant. If it does, no worries! My 10 Non-Invasive Butterfly Bush Alternatives has plenty of beautiful options that will bring just as many butterflies to your garden.
So how are these newer cultivars different? Plant breeders have developed varieties that are sterile or produce so few viable seeds that they simply can't spread and establish in the wild. The flowers still do everything you love: they bloom prolifically, they're loaded with nectar, and they will absolutely bring the butterflies.
Butterfly Bush at a Glance
Before we get to the list, here's what all of these cultivars have in common. Butterfly bush is a low maintenance shrub that practically takes care of itself once established.
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours daily)
Bloom time: Summer through early fall
Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
Deer and rabbit resistant: Yes
Water needs: Drought tolerant once established; prefers dry to average soil
Fragrance: Lightly fragrant flowers
A note before you shop: this list focuses mostly on specific cultivars from two series, the ‘Miss’ series and the Lo & Behold® series, but not every plant in those series is seedless or sterile. Make sure you are purchasing exactly the varieties listed here. And if you are searching locally, butterfly bush is sometimes sold under the common name summer lilac, so keep an eye out for that too.
'Miss Molly' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Miss Molly'
‘Miss Molly’. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Miss Molly is a showstopper, producing deep rose to magenta blooms on a nicely rounded shrub that earns its place in any sunny border. It’s one of the most widely available of the non-invasive cultivars, both online and in nurseries.
Height: 4 to 5 feet
Width: 4 to 5 feet
Shape: Rounded, mounding
Flower color: Deep rose to magenta
Landscape uses: Miss Molly makes a stunning centerpiece in a dedicated butterfly garden, where the deep magenta blooms draw swallowtails and monarchs from midsummer through fall. It’s also beautiful planted in a trio with ornamental grasses and tall garden phlox for a bold, late season border that earns its keep all the way to frost.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Miss Molly*
Shop at Fast Growing Trees → Miss Molly*
‘Miss Molly’. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
'Miss Violet' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Miss Violet'
‘Miss Violet’. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Miss Violet brings a cooler, more classic butterfly bush color to the group with electric violet purple blooms. It’s a bright addition to a pollinator garden and pairs beautifully with the warmer pinks of Miss Molly and Miss Ruby if you want to create a butterfly bush trio.
Height: 4 to 5 feet
Width: 4 to 5 feet
Shape: Rounded, mounding
Flower color: Violet purple
Landscape uses: Miss Violet is a gorgeous choice for the corner of a house or at the end of a border where you need a substantial, rounded shrub with real presence. The violet blooms pair naturally with the silvery foliage of catmint or Russian sage, creating a classic purple and silver planting scheme that butterflies absolutely cannot resist.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Miss Violet*
Shop at Home Depot → Miss Violet*
‘Miss Violet’. Image courtesy of Proven Winners ColorChoice, provenwinners.com.
'Miss Ruby' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Miss Ruby'
‘Miss Ruby’. Image courtesy of Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. - Proven Winners
Miss Ruby turns up the color dial with some of the most vivid raspberry pink blooms in the butterfly bush world. This shrub is a real garden workhorse, blooming prolifically from summer right through to early fall and attracting butterflies in droves.
Height: 4 to 5 feet
Width: 4 to 5 feet
Shape: Rounded, mounding
Flower color: Vivid raspberry pink
Landscape uses: Miss Ruby is a natural along a sunny fence line, where the vivid raspberry blooms create a warm, colorful backdrop for shorter perennials planted in front. Try pairing this butterfly bush with the soft yellows of black eyed Susans and the wispy purple blooms of verbena bonariensis for a pollinator border combination that looks effortlessly designed.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Miss Ruby*
‘Miss Ruby’. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Lo & Behold® 'Blue Chip Jr.' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Blue Chip Jr.'
Lo & Behold® 'Blue Chip Jr.' Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Don't let the compact size fool you. Blue Chip Jr. is a big performer in a small package, producing lavender blue blooms all summer long on a tidy, low growing mound that fits beautifully into smaller garden spaces. This is one of the most popular of the Lo & Behold® series and widely available at nurseries and online.
Height: 18 to 30 inches
Width: 20 to 28 inches
Shape: Low, compact, mounding
Flower color: Lavender blue
Landscape uses: Blue Chip Jr. is a natural fit for a pollinator border, where its lavender blue blooms pair beautifully with the sunny yellows of rudbeckia and purple coneflower. It's also a great choice for planting in a row along a driveway or walkway for a tidy mass planting, or tucking into the gaps of a low foundation planting where a larger shrub would overwhelm the space.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Blue Chip Jr.*
Shop at Home Depot → Blue Chip Jr.*
Lo & Behold® 'Pink Microchip' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Pink Microchip'
Lo & Behold® 'Pink Microchip'. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Pink Microchip is the tiny charmer of the Lo & Behold® series, with orchid pink blooms covering a small, compact plant. If you love the idea of a butterfly bush and need something small, this is your plant.
Height: 18 to 24 inches
Width: 18 to 24 inches
Shape: Low, compact mounding
Flower color: Orchid pink
Landscape uses: Pink Microchip is lovely at the front of a mixed cottage garden border, where its soft pink blooms harmonize beautifully with lavender and salvia for a classic summer combination. It also works well in a mass planting surrounding a mailbox or in a small front yard bed where you want season long color without a lot of fuss.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Pink Microchip*
Shop at Home Depot → Pink Microchop*
Lo & Behold® 'Pink Microchip'. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Lo & Behold® 'Purple Haze' Butterfly Bush
Buddleia x 'Purple Haze'
Lo & Behold® 'Purple Haze'. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com
Yes, it's named after the Jimi Hendrix song, and yes, it absolutely lives up to the name. What sets Purple Haze apart from the rest of the Lo & Behold® series is its unique spreading habit, with blooms that radiate downward like a pinwheel from midsummer right through to frost.
Height: 24 to 36 inches
Width: 36 to 42 inches
Shape: Low, spreading
Flower color: Deep purple
Purple Haze is one of the few butterfly bush cultivars that shines as a ground cover, making it a brilliant choice for slopes, rock gardens, and mass plantings where you need low, spreading color all summer long. It also works beautifully as a foundation planting or woven into a perennial border, where its pinwheel shaped blooms and deep purple color pair naturally with the silver foliage of lamb's ear for a striking summer combination.
Shop at Nature Hills Nursery → Purple Haze®
Buddleia 'Asian Moon'
Buddleia 'Asian Moon’
And now for our mystery guest. When I was doing my research for this article, the Asian Moon variety kept popping up over and over again, promising purple flowers with orange throats on a vigorous but non-invasive shrub. Sounds dreamy, right? There's just one problem. I could not find an image I was able to share with you through any of the trade associations I belong to, and in all my years of haunting Mid-Atlantic nurseries, I have never once spotted it for sale. As I write this, only a single online retailer has it listed for sale at an eye-watering price.
So, Asian Moon, consider this your wanted poster. Details below, no photo available.
Height: 3 to 7 feet
Width: 3 to 5 feet
Shape: Upright, mounding
Flower color: Purple
Landscape uses: If you manage to track one down, Asian Moon would be a beautiful addition to a pollinator garden or mixed shrub border, paired with butterfly favorites like agastache and summersweet.
Have you seen Asian Moon for sale, or is it growing in your garden right now? I'd genuinely love to know if this plant is still out there! Send me a note here and let's solve this mystery.
Ready to dig deeper into butterfly gardening? Browse my favorite picks on Bookshop.org* and support independent bookstores while you're at it.
Keep Exploring: More Butterfly Garden Inspiration
If this article got your butterfly gardening wheels turning, here are a few more resources from the Plant and Bloom archives to keep you going:
10 Non-Invasive Butterfly Bush Alternatives. If you'd like to explore beyond butterfly bush entirely, this is a great place to start.
Top 10 Butterfly Nectar Plants for Your Garden. The best nectar plants to pair with your new butterfly bush for a garden that butterflies absolutely cannot resist.
10 Best Butterfly Host Plants for Your Garden. Nectar is one thing, but host plants are where the real butterfly magic happens. A must read for any butterfly gardener.
The Bright, Bold and Vibrant Butterfly Weed. A native plant that deserves a starring role in every pollinator garden.
Butterfly Garden for Kids: Free Design Plan and Complete Plant List. A fun and family friendly way to bring butterfly gardening to the next generation.
Follow Plant and Bloom Design Studio for Gardening Tips and Landscape Design Ideas