12 Butterfly Bush Varieties

Buddleia are sometimes called "summer lilacs," and one look at the blooms of Nanho Purple tells you why. These deep purple wands of blooms look and smell a lot like lilacs. Nanho Purple is a compact variety that grows 3 to 5 feet tall and about that wide. So you can use it in your yard or garden without having it take over. Best of all, it’s seedless and non-invasive, so it will attract butterflies without taking over the neighborhood.

If you want bright blooms, 'Prince Charming' is the buddleia for you. It produces 10-inch long spikes of flowers in sizzling raspberry pink that hummingbirds adore. Those big, bright flowers grow on a compact shrub that gets 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide, so its short stature will fit into smaller gardens where a bigger buddleia would be overpowering.

Buddleia shrubs can grow to a gargantuan 12 feet tall — great if you live at a botanical garden, but not great for a normal residential garden. 'Queen of Hearts' is a compact type that gets just 3 to 4 feet tall. It forms a full, rounded mound that's a bit wider than it is tall, and is covered with 9-inch long wands of vibrant magenta flowers all summer. Planting butterfly bush is a good way to add a splash of color to your garden and attract winged creatures.

If a monster butterfly bush isn’t your cup of garden tea, this is the variety for you. 'Pugster' is a dwarf variety that grows just 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide, but it has full-sized flowers. Tiny bush, big blooms. What's not to love? This means you can put it in a container of in the middle of a border. It's a continuous bloomer, so you won’t even have to deadhead to get flowers all season. 'Pugster' is cold-hardier than many other varieties of buddleia, able to survive to Zone 5.