Butterflies on Butterfly Tree

[Arabella]

Last Sunday I counted over 20 butterflies on my Butterfly Bush. Today I was down the country and saw a load more on a similiar tree. Are they attracted to the flowers because of the colour - lilac - or is the tree host to a better type of food. I also remember seeing lots of butterflies examining purple/lilac thistles in a bog.

 

[Sherman]

I presume it's buddleia davidii - I think the attractiveness is to do with the shape of the tiny flowers - perfectly suited to a butterfly's way of feeding.

 

[Arabella]

You are spot on Sherman. Spoke to a horticulturist friend last night and he mailed me dozens of beautiful photos of the various hues. As I look out now (and the sky is overcast with occasional drops) there are possibly ten flying around in their erratic flight pattern. A beauty to behold

 

[MacTheKnife1]

Every garden should have buddleia. A marvellous plant - known as the Butterfly Bush. Different varieties have different colour flowers. Awesome.

 

[pulsar]

I've had similar numbers visiting a white buddleia in my garden but only recognised 4 multi-coloured species, small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Peacock and Red Admiral and at least one white variety. The flowers have just about died off this week.

 

[Seagull]

Cut off the dead flower heads, and you should get a second flush of flowers.

 

[Arabella]

Unfortunately I've only seen four butterflies at one go on my tree this year. I guess the cold winter did for them. Likewise very few wasps and honeybees. The flowers have now largely disappeared but I'm seeing a few new ones sprouting. This time last year the tree was just a mass of lilac. Have a friend in France where winter temps often get to -15C and she has no problem. What is going on?

 

[Molly]

Did you prune the tree in early spring ? If you prune it right down to around 3ft you should get masses of flowers and it will grow rapidly back to the height it was at before pruning.

 

[Arabella]

Yes I did Molly and I thought it would never grow back to it's height, but it took off like a rocket. Since then have been reading up on it. Next year I hope to grow some plant or tree that attracts birds.