Looking to bring vibrant colours and delightful butterflies to your garden this spring and summer? Look no further than Butterfly Candy Buddleia! With their stunning hues and easy-care nature, these butterfly bushes are perfect for any garden enthusiast. Discover the five enchanting varieties of Butterfly Candy and learn how to make your garden a haven for pollinators.
Why Choose Butterfly Candy Buddleia?
Butterfly Candy Buddleia, also known as butterfly bushes, are renowned for attracting butterflies and other pollinators. These hardy shrubs are easy to maintain and bring a burst of colour from late spring to autumn. With their compact size, Butterfly Candy Buddleia are perfect for small gardens, container plantings, and landscape borders.
Key Features:
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Hardiness: H2 – H6
- Mature Size: 2-3 feet tall and wide
- Bloom Time: Late spring to autumn
- Flower Colours: Five unique hues
- Planting Style: Great for mass plantings with a low-growing habit
Meet the Butterfly Candy Varieties
Each Butterfly Candy Buddleia variety brings unique charm and colour to your garden. Let’s explore these delightful options:
- Li’l Coconut™: Featuring fragrant white blooms, Li’l Coconut is perfect for smaller gardens or containers. Its fresh and pure appearance adds a touch of elegance to any outdoor space.
- Li’l Taffy™: With soft, pastel-hued blooms, Li’l Taffy adds whimsy and charm to your garden. Ideal for creating a dreamy, romantic atmosphere, this variety is a favourite among butterfly lovers.
- Li’l Raspberry™: Li’l Raspberry boasts vibrant raspberry-coloured blooms that stand out in any landscape. This eye-catching variety is a hit with both butterflies and garden enthusiasts.
- Li’l Lavender™: For a sense of tranquillity and elegance, choose Li’l Lavender. Its delicate lavender blooms emit a calming fragrance, making it perfect for meditation gardens or relaxation spots.
- Li’l Grape™: Embrace rich purple hues with Li’l Grape. Its large, grape-coloured blooms sway gracefully, creating a mesmerising sight in any garden. The sweet fragrance is irresistible to pollinators.
Planting Your Dwarf Buddleia
First, choose a spot in your garden that receives full sun for at least six hours a day, as butterfly bushes produce more flowers with adequate sunlight. While these plants are adaptable to various soil conditions, well-drained soil is ideal. Avoid areas with heavy clay or waterlogged soil to prevent root rot. Before planting, testing your soil’s pH is beneficial; Butterfly bushes prefer slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 6.0-7.0). If necessary, amend the soil with organic matter or compost to improve its texture and fertility. Enhance drainage by mixing in sand or compost if your soil is heavy or clay-based. This prevents water from pooling around the roots.
When preparing the planting hole, dig it twice as wide and just as deep as the plant’s root ball to allow the roots to spread out comfortably and establish themselves more quickly. If planting multiple Butterfly Candy bushes, space the holes about 2-3 feet apart to give each plant enough room to grow without overcrowding.
Carefully remove the Butterfly Candy Buddleia from its container and gently loosen the roots if they appear tightly bound or circling the root ball. Place the plant in the centre of the hole, ensuring that the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil. Backfill the hole with the excavated soil, pressing it gently around the roots to eliminate air pockets.
Caring for Your Dwarf Buddleia
After planting, thoroughly water the Butterfly Candy Buddleia to settle the soil around the roots, helping establish the plant in its new location. Apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around the base, keeping it a few inches away from the stem. Mulch helps retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds.
During the first growing season, water the Butterfly Candy Buddleia regularly to moisten the soil. Once established, these plants are more drought-tolerant and require less frequent watering. In the spring, apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser to support healthy growth and flowering, following the package instructions for the correct application rate.
Minimal pruning is needed for Butterfly Candy Buddleia. Prune in early spring before new growth begins to encourage more flowers and maintain a compact shape. Light trimming after the spring bloom can also help shape the plant. By following these detailed steps, you can ensure your Butterfly Candy Buddleia will thrive and bring beauty to your garden for years to come.
Butterfly Candy Buddleia: Tough and Resilient
Butterfly bushes thrive in various soil types and habitats, and they are tolerant of heat and humidity once established. They do not like waterlogged roots but also aren’t drought-tolerant, so well-draining soil is crucial. In colder areas, they may die back to the ground in winter and regrow in spring, quickly forming a full canopy and plenty of blooms.
Pests and Diseases
Butterfly bushes are virtually pest-free. However, we still recommend regularly inspecting your plants for any signs of pest damage and treating them as quickly as possible. For more information about plant pests and diseases, read our article here.
Enjoying Your Butterfly Candy Buddleia
In addition to attracting butterflies, Butterfly Candy Buddleia’s flowers are perfect for fresh or dried arrangements. Harvest the flowers by cutting stems just below the flower head and enjoy them in vases or dried displays.
Learn more about Buddleia (Buddleja) plants here.
You can also check out the Butterfly Candy Buddleia website here.