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Butterfly Bush

Buddleja davidii

Plant Description

A deciduous shrub with showy purple flower spikes, scraggly gray-brown peeling bark, and opposite lance- to egg-shaped green to blue-gray leaves that have fuzzy hairs on the underside. Blooms mid-summer.

See list of ODA-approved seedless cultivars of butterfly bush.

Plant Details

Life Forms
Habitats
ODA Listing
Soil and Moisture Conditions
Suggested Actions
Shade Preference
Mature Height 6-12'
Distribution Escaped populations across virtually all of western Oregon and in a couple counties east of the Cascades.
Control Dig up adults and hand pick seedlings. Revisit area regularly to remove seedlings until seed bank is depleted. Refer to the PNW Weed Management Handbook for other options.
Disposal Methods Cut and bag flower heads before they go to seed. Carefully dispose of cut branches, which can sprout roots.
Reproduction and Spread Reproduces by seeds with greater than 80% germination rate and vegetatively: cut stems can sprout roots.
Introduced Butterfly bush is native to China.
Look Alikes Numerous seedless cultivars have been developed. Check ODA's website for a list of approved sterile cultivars. Other look-alikes: lilac, purple loosestrife, and Douglas spirea.
Impact Forms dense thickets along riverbanks, crowds out native plants, may alter soil chemistry.
More Info
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