Which butterfly bush stays low?

Butterfly bushes (Buddleja) are beautiful plants to look at and smell!

The large clusters of flowers naturally attract many butterflies and bees.

A butterfly bush is also very easy to care for. By pruning off the spent flowers, your butterfly bush will continue to bloom for a long time. Prune the butterfly bush in the spring Cut it back to just above the ground so that it doesn't get too big and only blooms at the top.

Most butterfly bushes grow to about 2–3 meters tall pretty quickly anyway! And that’s even though you prune them back completely every year!

– How do you keep a butterfly bush from getting too big?

– Can a butterfly bush be planted in a small garden?

We receive these questions regularly in our inbox. Fortunately, there are also butterfly bushes that remain small or stay low. These are known as dwarf butterfly bushes or mini butterfly bushes.

Which butterfly bushes stay low and are suitable for a small garden?

Buddleja davidii ‘Nanho’

Buddleja Nanho is a butterfly bush that grows to a height of about 1.20 m to 1.70 m. It is thus considerably smaller than many other butterfly bushes, but it is not the smallest variety either. The best-known variety is Buddleja Nanho Blue (also known as Mongo), with narrow gray leaves and beautiful purple-blue flowers. This butterfly bush is very versatile due to its compact growth habit.

There are also Buddleja Nanho White and Nanho Purple.

Buddleja davidii ‘Chip’

Buddleja Chip is a true dwarf butterfly bush. Growing to a height of less than 100 cm, this butterfly bush fits perfectly in even the smallest garden, on a balcony, or on a rooftop terrace. This variety grows very compactly, yet produces an abundance of blooms. Buddleja Blue Chip is extremely popular for small gardens and blooms profusely with blue-purple panicles.

Buddleja 'White Chip' is also commonly used in situations where space is limited. Buddleja 'Lilac Chip' and 'Purple Chip' are becoming increasingly popular.

Buddleja ‘Miss Ruby’

Another butterfly bush from the “Chip” series is the Buddleja Miss Ruby. This dwarf butterfly bush, which grows to a maximum of 100 cm, blooms red! Or so they say… actually, the color is more of a dark or deep pink. A real red butterfly bush It's still not available. But it remains a unique color, and it's a very beautiful, low-growing butterfly bush.

Buddleja davidii ‘White Ball’

Buddleja 'White Ball' is a beautiful white butterfly bush that grows compactly and in a rounded shape (sort of like a ball). This variety is often used for planting in pots. This dwarf variety also usually doesn't grow much taller than about 80–100 cm.

Buddleja davidii ‘Free Petite’

The butterfly bushes from the Free Petite series also remain nice and small, growing to 70–80 cm. As a result, they are often planted in pots and planters. The best-known variety is Buddleja Blue Heaven. Other varieties include Buddleja Tutti Fruitti, Snow White, Lavender Flow, and Buddleja Dark Pink.

Butterfly bushes that don't self-seed

Many of the low-growing butterfly bushes mentioned above are also sterile. This means they cannot self-seed. Common butterfly bushes, on the other hand, self-seed very easily and can create some extra work for you as you have to keep transplanting or removing the young plants.

But is that really such a big deal?