Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush (Gaura lindheimeri) fills the front of a bed with clouds of small white and pink flowers that hover on fine wands and move with every breeze, which is exactly how it earned the name. It grows about 80cm tall and 60cm wide, shrugs off heat, frost and dry spells, and keeps producing fresh flowers right through the warm months. For softness and movement per dollar, few perennials come close.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers that keep coming. New buds open along the wands for months on end, so the display refreshes itself instead of peaking for a fortnight.
• Movement in the garden. The fine stems sway in any breeze, softening paving, gravel and hard edges the way ornamental grasses do, but with flowers.
• Genuinely tough. It is frost hardy, drought tolerant and heat tolerant, a rare combination that suits most of the country.
• A magnet for bees and butterflies. The open flowers feed pollinators all season, which every vegie patch nearby appreciates.
• Pet friendly. It is not toxic to cats or dogs, so it can edge paths and lawns where animals brush past.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Run it along a path or the front of a bed at 50cm spacing, where the flower wands can lean over the edge and blur the line.

Mass planting. Drifts of five or more plants, each 50cm apart, give the misty meadow effect that single plants only hint at.

Pots and containers. It flowers happily in a large pot in full sun, and the spill of wands over the rim suits courtyards and balconies.

Rockeries. Sharp drainage and reflected heat mimic its natural home, so rockery pockets grow compact, heavy flowering plants.

Growing Butterfly Bush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always: shade stretches it thin and halves the flowers. It performs in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and being frost hardy it sails through cold winters. Only the wet tropics are a poor fit.

Soil. Any soil that drains freely, from sand to improved clay. It resents standing water around the crown, so raise the bed slightly in heavy ground.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. A light feed with a complete fertiliser in spring is all it needs; rich feeding produces floppy growth.

Pruning. Cut the whole plant back to about 15cm in late winter to keep it dense and youthful, and shear spent wands lightly through the season to trigger the next flush.

What to expect when it arrives

Butterfly Bush is sold as tube stock and in 140mm packs of 10, the pack being the easy way to plant a drift or edge in one order. Plants may arrive between flushes or freshly trimmed, which is normal for a perennial and sets them up to bush out. In warm soil they settle within a fortnight and flower in their first season.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Perennials that build a cottage garden
• More bee and butterfly friendly plants
• Plants that suit mass planting
• Seaside Daisy, a matching soft groundcover

Common questions

Is this the same butterfly bush as buddleja?

No. Buddleja is a large shrub also sold under that common name. This is gaura, a fine stemmed perennial under a metre tall, named for flowers that look like hovering butterflies.

How do I keep it flowering for longer?

Shear the spent wands back by about a third once a flush fades. New wands follow within weeks, and plants in full sun with lean soil repeat the cycle all season.

Should I cut it back in winter?

Yes, hard. Take the whole clump down to about 15cm in late winter. It regrows from the base into a tighter, heavier flowering plant than one left uncut.

What spacing for a mass planting?

Fifty centimetres between plants. Close enough that the wands weave into one continuous drift, far enough that each clump keeps good airflow.