July 25, 2010

Of Butterflies and Bushes

A few days ago I posted a pic of the beautiful butterflies in my front perennial garden on my butterfly bush.  Since then I've looked for more information about butterflies and bushes, as I'm pretty green on both topics.

I planted my scrawny butterfly bush last year and it's at least tripled in size in one season.  I didn't do anything special to it last year before winter, but I think I'll pay more attention to what needs to be done to ensure it has a good start again next year.  Preparing Butterfly Bushes for Winter has good information on doing just what it says.

The butterfly bush draws an abundance of butterflies. 
 I captured three in this one shot.

Since this bush has done so well, I might try to put another out back (since I spend so much time there with the dogs and chickens).  Since the butterfly bush I have is healthy and a good size, I may try to get another plant from it.  According to Propagation of Butterfly Bush, it can be done by harvesting the seeds, taking a cutting or dividing the shrub.  I don't think I want to dig up the whole shrub, so I'll probably try drying the seeds and maybe a cutting or two.

I can't believe I'm thinking about preparing plants for winter when we're in the middle of a stretch of days with heat indexes over 100.

4 comments:

Becca said...

Of course I visited your gardening blog first and I'm glad I did! I actually just rooted some Butterfly Bush cuttings a few days ago, and left them out in the record breaking temperatures.

Several of them appear to have rooted, so you are not the only one thinking of that. Come to think of it, they would probably do better in shade. Great blog!
Becca

Just an Average American Mom said...

That is a beautiful photo!

I have been thinking of planting a butterfly garden around here but first things first...Fruit trees and blueberry bushes this year.

Just an Average American Mom said...

I left you two awards on my blog. Please stop by and pick them up.

Tamara McRill said...

Love the pic! I've been coming across some multicolored butterfly bushes online that I really want. Can't seem to find them locally.