Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'
Buddleja 'Blue Chip' · Scrophulariaceae Popular
A knee-high butterfly bush that sets almost no seed. It is covered in lavender-blue, scented flower spikes from midsummer to frost without deadheading.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early July to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'
The planner designed this bed around butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' × 1, lavender
- 2 Cottage pinks × 8, pink
- 3 Wild strawberry × 13, white
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 2, purple
- 7 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, airy sprays, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only lavender.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between wild strawberry (6 in) in front and Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 14 weeks. From early July to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last six weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Wild strawberry is planted in four places along the bed, which gives it rhythm. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It gives the nectar and the long season of a butterfly bush without the seedlings, in a size that fits among perennials. It needs sharp drainage in winter.
- A non-invasive butterfly bush
- The front of a sunny border
- Containers
What to plant with butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 10 weeks, from early July.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': in flower together for 10 weeks, from early July; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its fine ones.
Questions about butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'
Does butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' need sun or shade?
Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Early July to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (80 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'?
Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Shrubby cinquefoil 'Abbotswood': the same job in a bed; 6 in wider, flowers early June to mid September.
- Kalm's St John's wort: the same job in a bed; 8 in taller, flowers early July to early August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after butterfly bush 'Blue Chip'?
Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' look like in winter?
Butterfly bush 'Blue Chip' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Buddleja
- Butterfly bush Buddleja davidii
- Butterfly bush 'Black Knight' Buddleja davidii 'Black Knight'
- Butterfly bush 'Miss Molly' Buddleja 'Miss Molly'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 2½ ft (70 cm) tall, 2½ ft (80 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early July to early October; upright spires; lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, deciduous; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Scrophulariaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.