Other Names:  Summer Lilac

Group/Class:  Flutterby Series

Description:

An interesting groundcover variety with a spreading habit; cone shaped clusters of lavender flowers with orange centers all summer; attracts butterflies; gray-green foliage is full and dense; may be cut back each spring, as it blooms on new wood

Ornamental Features

Flutterby Flow® Lavender Butterfly Bush features showy panicles of fragrant lavender flowers with orange eyes at the ends of the branches from early summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has attractive grayish green deciduous foliage. The fuzzy narrow leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Flutterby Flow® Lavender Butterfly Bush is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Flutterby Flow® Lavender Butterfly Bush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Flutterby Flow® Lavender Butterfly Bush will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Flutterby Flow® Lavender Butterfly Bush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.