A butterfly bush will provide you with blooms from the summer through the fall, and it is easy to propagate through seeds, cuttings, and division. It will also draw butterflies to your garden, which is beneficial because they are wonderful pollinators.
What Is a Butterfly Bush?
The butterfly bush is in the Scrophulariaceae family. It grows quickly, reaching five to ten feet in height, and it is easy to care for. It has blossoms that are five to twelve inches, and they can be different shades of purple, pink, white, and other colors as well.
They smell good and attract butterflies, among other pollinators.
What Is Propagation?
Plant propagation is a process that grows new plants from different sources, including seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. It is an inexpensive way to easily get new plants from plants that you already have in your yard.
It is an asexual means of reproduction that creates a plant that is the same as its parent, and it is cost effective if you want to increase the number of plants in your yard.
How to Propagate a Butterfly Bush with Cuttings
Cutting is the most common method of propagating a butterfly bush. The best time to use this method is in the middle of the summer.
You need to select the right cutting by making sure that the stem of your cutting is healthy. It should also be a new growth.
When you use a new growth, it will be easier to root the cutting, and it will also develop faster.
The cutting should be between three and six inches long, and you should remove the bottommost leaves. You can place it in a well draining container with peat moss or perlite. To speed up the rooting process, you can apply a rooting hormone to the base of the stem.
You need to remove flowers and flower buds so that the bush will have root production instead of flower production. If the plant is focused on flower production before it is rooted, the nutrients will go to the flowers and it will not take root.
You need to keep the cutting moist and out of the direct sun, and it will take root in about three weeks. Once it takes root, you can reduce the humidity and begin to harden the root so that you can plant it.
Once you plant it, be sure to add fertilizer so that it continues growing. Make sure that you do not over-fertilize it, or you could end up killing the plant.
That is the entire process to use a cutting to propagate the butterfly bush, and you can add to your garden so that you will have more of these bushes blooming and attracting butterflies.
How to Propagate a Butterfly Bush with Seeds
This method of propagating a butterfly bush takes a lot longer, but it works as well. You can get the seeds from your current butterfly bush, and you need to pre-chill them for about four weeks.
Some types of plants require this cold treatment, and butterfly bushes are one of them.
This cold treatment is called stratification, which is a process where seed dormancy is broken to promote germination. When you do this treatment, you will mimic the conditions that the seeds require when they break dormancy in nature.
Once you have finished the cold treatment of these seeds, you can plant them. You can plant them in the soil, where they only need to be lightly covered, or you can plant them in a pot. The soil is really just there to keep the seeds moist until they germinate.
You need to make sure that they are watered and that the pot drains well. It will take them a few months to complete this process.
Then, you can transplant the bush outdoors once the plant is well rooted and six to ten inches in height.
How to Propagate a Butterfly Bush with Division
The last way that you can propagate a butterfly bush is by division. You will divide its roots to do this.
You want to make sure that the butterfly bush is mature and healthy. Then, you can dig it up, and you will use a sharp tool to divide the roots.
You can divide it into sections with about three leaves on each one. Now you can plant the new divided sections in the ground. You need to keep them watered, but do not overwater them.
If you want to increase the growth or if your soil quality is lacking, you can use fertilizer to help them grow.
Final Thoughts
Butterfly bushes have pretty flowers that bloom from summer until fall, and they attract butterflies, which are important pollinators. If you want to have more of these bushes in your yard, you can propagate your butterfly bush in different ways.
When you propagate the seeds, you will need to be patient. This method takes the longest, and it requires a lot of preparation because you have to pre-chill the seeds.
You will need to make sure that the seeds germinate and grow, and then you can transplant them outdoors.
If you use the division method, you can just dig your plant up and use a sharp tool to divide it into a number of smaller plants. You can plant them and water them, and you will have a number of new butterfly bushes.
Finally, you can use cuttings to propagate your butterfly bush. This is a fairly simple process, and it is the most common method that people use. This method is simple and straightforward, and it doesn’t take very long to have your new butterfly bush.
Propagating butterfly bushes is a great way to add more of them to your yard, and you will save money because you don’t have to buy them. Whether you choose to use seeds, cuttings, or division, this is a simple process, and it is definitely worthwhile.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.