The New White Profusion Butterfly Bush Is Planted.

White Profusion Butterfly Bush.
They enjoy sunlight and need watering in this climate.

Mrs. Ichabod was so impressed with the Butterfly Bush outside our bedroom window that she asked for another one outside the kitchen window, both on the west side of the house. I guessed that would have to wait until spring, but fall planting of bushes is a good idea.

I checked Amazon - and Colonial Farms, new to me, had a White Profusion Butterfly Bush for $10 with shipping. That had to be a small one, but the plant would have fall and winter to put down roots and set up an exchange system with the fungi, which need carbon, in exchange for various forms of nutrition and water.

The current news on Hurricane Matthew offers stupendous figures about its size and possible destruction. Close to home, the activities of plants and microbes astonish even more. Roots and root hairs stretch for miles, as fungi strands do. The complexity and inter-dependence is all the more impressive because so much activity takes place at the microscopic level. Every living thing, plant and animal, is created and engineered to do its job without hesitation, complaining, or rest.

The plant was very fresh and hydrated, but I soaked it in rainwater anyway - overnight. Rainwater is the best and most gentle fertilizer and never burns. The next best would be earthworm castings, which cost quite a bit more per pound.

I woke up to rainfall, plenty of it, and a break from rain - when Sassy told me to take her for a walk. She did not say anything, just blocked my exit from the bathroom by stretching out on the floor.

The plant looked perfect when I fished it out of the rainbarrel,  after our brief and drippy walk. Sassy probably felt heavy rain on the way and barked me to stop after 1/2 block.

When I scraped soil aside for planting, it was dry as dust, after a recent rainfall and the current one. We are supposedly 8 inches short of rain this year.

I poured rainwater in the hole and planted the tiny bush in a few minutes. Next I spread a sheet of newspaper over the plant, with a hole torn out for the plant, a bib or collar to hold in moisture and let rain and sunshine come down. I had leftover wood mulch, so I put some on the newspaper, then added small logs on each side of the plant. The logs keep us from walking into the tender plant and uprooting it. Wood and newspaper on the soil encourage soil creatures, and logs provide a shelter for toads.

 The Butterfly Bush compound flowers attract bees, butterflies,
and beneficial insects. They smell like candy and can reach 12 feet tall.

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http://www.butterflywebsite.com/articles/buddleia-butterfly-bush.cfm

BUDDLEIA: BUTTERFLY BUSH EXTRAORDINAIRE

by Claire Hagen Dole

Spring 1997

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Butterfly Magnet

With a name like butterfly bush, you might expect a plant to be attractive to butterflies. In fact, it's more than attractive; it's a magnet for all the butterflies who pass through your garden seeking nectar. Many butterfly gardeners plan their garden aroundBuddleia (pronounced BUD-lee-ah), a genus that includes over 100 species and cultivars. Also called summer lilac, the medium- to large-sized shrubs can anchor a perennial bed or form a hedge.

You'll be happier with Buddleia if you accept its growth habit, which is not neat and tidy. Its narrow branches support lilac-like clusters of blossoms a foot or two in length, with side branches and blossoms. After a rainfall, the flower-laden branches of some species can droop all over your flower bed. You'll want to allow at least six feet between bushes to keep some semblance of neatness.

But wait till you see the bush covered with fritillaries and tortoiseshells! Even a large swallowtail can land on the cluster, to sip from the many individual blooms.

Butterflies and bees will flock to the honey-scented blossoms, whose dilute nectar is sweetest in midday sun. Near a path or patio, the shrub provides delightful fragrance for you, too.

Do butterflies prefer certain colors of Buddleia? In my garden, Western Tiger Swallowtails visited all varieties (white and various shades of purple/pink/red). But Red Admirals preferred the white Buddleia while it was in bloom. Gardeners in other parts of the country may notice other preferences, if any.

History of the Butterfly Bush

Where did the name Buddleia come from? A seventeenth-century amateur botanist named Reverend Adam Buddle was honored posthumously, when the first butterfly bush reached England in 1774. Though most of today's offerings have Chinese ancestors, this shrub (Buddleia globosa) came from Chile. Its unfamiliar name prompted one nursery tradesman to call it the "Globose Buddlebush." Fortunately, the name didn't stick, but common names like Chilean orange ball tree aren't much better. It's more precise to call it what it is: Buddleia globosa.

Victorian-era explorers brought all kinds of exotic plants back to England. From China came seeds of Buddleia davidii, the hardy species that is most familiar to gardeners today. Named after a French Jesuit missionary, Pere Armand David, B. davidii reached London's Kew Gardens in 1896. Today, nurseries continue to develop new cultivars, like 'Raspberry Wine' (Carroll Gardens) and 'Twilight' (Mountain Valley Growers).

And horticulturists are still combing the Himalayan foothills for as-yet undiscovered Buddleia varieties. Heronswood Nursery lists three acquisitions from recent expeditions to China and Sikkim: new specimens of B. colvilei, B. fallowiana, and an unverified species (feel adventurous?).

Easy to Grow

Another reason for Buddleia's popularity is that it's easy to grow, even hard to kill. After one of my bushes was flattened by a windstorm, it was pruned and uprighted with little fuss. Buddleia davidii tolerates urban pollution and alkaline soil. It's generally pest-free, except for spider mite infestations during drought or stress. It performs adequately in spare soil but prefers a sunny spot with well-drained soil, a light application of fertilizer in spring, and a few deep waterings in summer.

Buddleia can behave like an opportunistic rascal. Says Dalton Durio of Louisiana Nursery, "It always seems to grow best in containers where other, more valuable plants are being grown. These volunteer seedlings come up fast and strong, and they usually succeed in killing the 'host' plant." Buddleia hybridizes easily; volunteer seedlings may not resemble your prized bush.

Butterfly Weed is not related, except for the first word.
Butterfly Bush attracts Monarchs.
Butterfly Weed hosts the larvae, I am told.

 From Norma Boeckler

Butterfly Bushes Attract Butterflies, Bees, Birds, and Squirrels

I bought Butterfly Bushes for two reasons. One was to screen the view of the houses behind us. There I have two Bonnies, which are reputed to grow very tall.

I planted a White Profusion near our bird feeders, to attract butterflies while enjoying a view from close-up. We have seen more butterflies all the time since the Whtie Profusion grew so tall and full of blooms.

Butterfly Bushes need watering and sunshine. Supposedly the watering needs of the plant will decrease when established, but this area is notorious for ending the summer with heat, humidity, and no rain. We were fairly dry again at the end of this summer.

The White Profusion near our window was blessed with stored rainwater and the soaker hose that runs out to the fence. I also dumped the dirty birdbath water on the bush at regular intervals, getting back my investment in birdseed.

The plant transformed itself from a weak little bush this spring to a 9-foot tall woody shrub now.

The squirrels used it as a ladder to their food but found the branches easy to break at first. The birds were also flummoxed by the flimsy branches. Now every creature is happy, and the Butterfly Bush is the waiting room for the feeders:

1. Sunflower seed platform
2. Finch seed, squirrel-proof feeder 
3. Hanging sunflower seed feeder
4. Hanging baskets with six pounds of suet in them.

Part of the fun is watching the birds go from the bush to the swing to the feeders and back to the bush again. Squirrels have squatted on the platform and waved away birds, which fly in close to peck the squirrels away from their food.

Meanwhile, the bush has grown up to be a tall, wide screen that filters the sun and blocks the view of the neighbors' backyards.

Mrs. Ichabod has asked for another Butterfly Bush to screen the kitchen window. That is an ideal location, because the rest of that garden will be Hosta and a soaker hose passes by the future location of the bush.

Butterfly Bush Pruning

I should have pruned the blooms the way I trim roses, but I let them go to seed instead. Next year I will remove more of the spent flowers to keep the bushes completely in bloom and energized by the pruning. 

They are commonly cut back in the winter or early spring, but not in the fall - bad timing there (like pruning roses late in the fall). Leaving a foot or two of growth will let the Butterfly bushes fill in faster in the spring and bloom on the new wood. They have a candy-like sweet aroma in bloom.

Tilting the Creation

The backyard gets less attention, but we have been reclaiming and expanding areas for easy gardening - and I mean even easier than roses. That means laying down cardboard and weighing it down before the fall leaf curbside grab.

We use reclaimed rotten wood from morning walks and water jugs filled with aromatic, bad tasting Springdale water. The same jugs will store heat and reduce frost harm in the early spring, basking in the sun and giving up solar heat in the evening. We use Walmart water, 88 cents a gallon, for drinking, which spoiled us for tapwater.

God manages things very well, so I like to help out in small ways. Where we had nothing but grass, we now have various gardens developing, garnished with - 

• Hosta
• Wild Strawberries
• Roses
• Butterfly Bushes
• Rugosa Rose (for shade)
• Willow Bushes
• Pokeweed (for birds and beneficial insects)
• Praying Mantids (hatched the eggs, turned them loose)
• Dutch White Clover - now most of the lawn
• Blueberries
• Beautyberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Asparagus
• Trumpet Vine
• Morning Glory Vine
• Honeysuckle Vine

I was giving a tour to our neighbors, who have pine trees. Always praise pine trees, pet rabbits, and horses, because all three donate for the good for gardening. The mother pointed to a praying mantis that I overlooked - "You have a helper." 

I bought some egg cases in the spring, hatched them in the window, then took the swarming cases to the front and back for the pious predators to finish and establish themselves. Our granddaughters took some egg cases home, put them in an solarium, and fed the hatchlings fresh insects until they were ready for the outside.

What begins slowly develops because the Creation does 99% or more of the work. So it is with the Word of God, which is the living Seed. By sewing this living Seed of the Word, the Gospel springs up and grows, forgiveness of sin and eternal life springing up with it.

Those who never plant asparagus say, "But it takes three years to produce!" Most worthwhile plants take three years to be established. Excuses among congregations and pastors are even more vapid and self-defeating. 

1. They need money. 
2. They need plans. 
3. They need an organization.
4. They need time.

Yet they remodel the church kitchen for thousands, as if they were running a large restaurant or hotel, and use their time to decide which table decorations to use.

Three Promises -
1. The Word never returns empty.
2. The Word always accomplishes God's purpose.
3. The Word always prospers God's plans.

Moving the Butterfly Bush, Harvesting Asparagus from a Friend

Our Butterfly Bush - White Profusion if you forgot - has done so well near the bird feeders that I decided to move a tiny, struggling Butterfly Bush. It will help form a bird-perch, butterfly host, and natural screen around the windows.

Sassy wanted to go out with me until she detected a mist falling. She noped that and asked to go back in. So I pulled my hat down against the Sou-wester blowing in and fetched the distant Butterfly Bush. Last year, I hastily planted the bush on higher ground. The little bush probably had too little moisture. And the slugs ravaged the bush for a long time, giving me a chance to try out useless slug repellents and cures.

White Profusion Butterfly Bush.
A diversity of planting throughout the garden will
support the larvae of various butterflies.

White Profusion Butterfly Bush

I pruned another Butterfly Bush into extinction, so I decided to water the little tyke more, which began to grow a bit this year. The transfer was easy. The clay was soft but not waterlogged. Afterwards, I made a toad-friendly log fence around the new bush and watered it generously with rain-barrel water.

I also dumped a rain-barrel on the large White Profusion, which is now about 8 feet tall and not ready to start blooming. The little one, Bonnie, may get quite large in time.

Buddleia davidii 

'Bonnie' (Bonnie Butterfly Bush) This Mike Dirr selection was named after his wife, Bonnie, and if you know Mike, you know that it must be one fine Buddleia! This giant deer resistant butterfly bush reaches 10' tall and is covered in large grey-green leaves, then topped from June until frost with large 10" panicles (flowers)  of very fragrant, light blue-violet (RHS 94D) flowers. (Hardiness Zone 5-10) -

See more at: http://www.plantdelights.com/Article/Buddleia-Butterfly-Bush#sthash.iug1CBFw.dpuf
Rain was expected a 4 PM but should arrive later with some force.

The birds were anxious to feed, so I re-supplied them with sunflower seeds today and watched the lively feeding frenzy. When Junior Squirrel showed up again to keep the birds away, I opened and shut the window to watch his standing broad jump away. Very pleasing.

The male cardinal is feeding from the platform or the ground several times a day. I imagine the female is sitting on the eggs in the Crepe Myrtle bush.

Once the birds were feeding on the hanging feeder when the squirrels reach made it spin around. He took a swipe at them to shoo them away. They went to the platform and the Jackson EZ Bird Swing.
The creatures are fun to watch, constantly entertaining.

Lantana are grown to excess in Phoenix, because they are drought tolerant,
but they also bloom well and attract butterflies here.