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'Miss Molly' Butterfly Bush Buddleia x

Exposure
  • Sun
Flower Season
  • Summer
Mature Size
5' 5' 1.5m 1.5m
Height: 4' - 5'
Spread: 4' - 5'
Height: 1.2m - 1.5m
Spread: 1.2m - 1.5m
Top Seller
  • Details

    48 - 60 Inches
    60 - 72 Inches
    48 - 60 Inches
    1.2m - 1.5m
    1.5m - 1.8m
    1.2m - 1.5m

    Features

    Enjoy the reddest color of any butterfly bush.

    With its intensely colored blooms and refined habit, 'Miss Molly' is the queen of the summer garden. Its fragrant flowers are the closest to red of any butterfly bush and appear for months every summer without deadheading. Unlike older varieties of butterfly bush, 'Miss Molly' reaches just 4-5'/1.2-1.5m tall, so it's easy to work into any sunny landscape. This non-invasive variety thrives in hot climates. Butterflies and hummingbirds will find it as irresistible as you do!

    Top reasons to grow 'Miss Molly' butterfly bush:

    - Rich and unique flower color is very eye-catching

    - Refined habit is more suitable to landscaping than other types of butterfly bush

    - Non-invasive

    Best Seller
    Fragrant Flower
    Heat Tolerant
    Drought Tolerant
    Attracts: 
    Butterflies
    Hummingbirds
    Resists: 
    Deer

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Shrub
    Shrub Type: 
    Deciduous
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    48 - 60 Inches 1.2m - 1.5m
    Spacing: 
    60 - 72 Inches 1.5m - 1.8m
    Spread: 
    48 - 60 Inches 1.2m - 1.5m
    Flower Colors: 
    Pink
    Flower Shade: 
    Ruby red-pink
    Foliage Colors: 
    Green
    Foliage Shade: 
    Green
    Habit: 
    Mounded
    Container Role: 
    Thriller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Moderate
    Blooms On: 
    New Wood
    Bloom Time: 
    Mid Summer
    Bloom Time: 
    Late Summer
    Bloom Time: 
    Early Fall
    Bloom Time: 
    Mid Fall
    Bloom Time: 
    Late Fall
    Hardiness Zones: 
    5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Needs Good Drainage
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses Notes: 

    Mixed borders; perennial gardens; wildlife gardens.

    Maintenance Notes: 

    Get all the details you need to grow butterfly bush like an expert in our ultimate guide to butterfly bush.

    Fun Facts: 

    This non-invasive variety is approved for sale in Oregon and Washington, though it will be called a "summer lilac" instead of a "butterfly bush."

    'Miss Molly' Buddleia x USPP 23,425, Can 4,446
  • 21 Reviews

    5
    11
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    Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.
    • We bought this in 2017. It was deer resistant but got much taller than the label indicated. It was over 10' tall and 8' wide. I took it out this year because I was having seedlings growing everywhere. This was labeled non-invasive but apparently it is. Pretty flowers but not a bush I would buy.

      George Frey
      , Washington
      , United States
      , 29 weeks ago
    • We planted this variety of butterfly bush 2 years ago. We cut back each late winter season and it flushes back out beautifully each year. This is only the third season we've grown it personally but it is a great garden performer and one of my faves this year. It is currently early July and it is already back up to just under 4 feet tall and 3 ft wide with a full bushy habit. The plant is covered in blooms and my kids counted a total of 12 butterflies (3 different types including a Pipevine Swallowtail) all at one time....not including the bees that were also attracted. We planted it high in our clay soil and it does have one aerial root of some sort but it isn't a total eyesore and when it flushes out you cant see it. Not sure if that is normal? Either way, this is a wonderful plant and my only regret is not planting it closer to my porch to see the wildlife it attracts.

      Just Beautiful!
      , North Carolina
      , United States
      , 38 weeks ago
    • I had to transplant my butterfly bush after only one season and since then, it has done very well. This summer is its 5th year and it is huge and beautiful. Every evening when I am outside there is always several butterflies on it, last night several butterfly moths were on it. It is a huge hit in my Colorado backyard. I am here to order more!

      Amy H
      , Colorado
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Miss Molly is a great bloomer. It is easy to dead head and reblooms all summer It attracts lots of butterflies and some other pollinators as well. My only issue is that it is 6 feet tall this year (3rd year) and I wanted a max 5 ft shrub. I cut it back in late winter the past two years, but it has really shot up this year. It gets about 8 hours of sun each day.

      Michelle Baldwin
      , Virginia
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • I really loved this butterfly bush when I first met it, I bought 9! 6 for containers at my church, one for a friend’s landscape and 1 for a pot at my house and a landscape spot at my house. So I feel like I have a load of varied experience here! The first season after planting was incredible! Great performer and healthy! Unfortunately in it’s second season in all of the locations it has succumbed to disease and pests: brown dry leaves, pest holes, leaf curl, and I have hd to cut them down to the base again in all locations! After proper pruning it is only growing flowers on the tips of it’s stalks. It’s like a different plant. I would have chalked it up to bad luck or poor positioning if I had only purchased 1! But with 9 having the same problems around my area…it’s more then bad luck. Such a HUGE disappointment!

      Cara De Jong
      , California
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Buddleia is invasive in the Pacific Northwest. I am zone 9b in the dry California Central Valley. My Miss Molly is on drip so very happy here. It's a war zone in my garden. Miss Molly is duking it out with large salvia and hardy hibiscus, tall plants. If there isn't enough sun, it is wispy. It pokes out here and there with a beautiful magenta bloom. I don't mind the dead blooms because they are dark and not visible from any distance. I had 3 pugsters and murdered them all because of those ugly brown dead blooms. It's fall, high crime in the garden, another plant murder planned to give one of my 3 Miss Mollys more light.

      Peggie Who
      , California
      , United States
      , 2 years ago
    • I love my buddleia plant "Miss Molly". It was given to me last year by my daughter Janice who knew I wanted one. She passed away this past June, so it has doubled in meaning for me. Seems like it also doubled the flowers since then. I call it my Janice Bush. The blooms are truly gorgeous, a dark crimson. It is starting to wind down now for the winter, but I will prune it in the early Spring, and I know it will come back again in all its glory. I am looking forward to it.

      Susan Odom
      , North Carolina
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
    • I ordered 3 plants and received 3 different sizes which I nicknamed Daddy, Mommy and Baby. Miss Molly is noted to be deer resistant but my local deer quickly took care of the size difference for me. I hope the plants can rebound. They are tolerating high heat and that is a plus. I love the blooms and hope that the deer will allow me to see more as the summer progresses. The odor of deer repellant is something I can't stand and the fact that these were supposed to be deer resistant was a factor in my purchase. I just want to let people know that Miss Molly may be deer resistant but certainly isn't deer proof.

      Jean K
      , Ohio
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
    • Beautiful! Definitely a butterfly favorite. Make sure it gets plenty of sun, sit back and enjoy the beautiful blossoms and all of the pollinators they attract. To look its best it does benefit from deadheading spent blossoms. Mine has survived four zone 5 Colorado winter so far.

      Katannya
      , Colorado
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
    • This is my first year growing any variety of Buddleia, I purchased the quart size of 'Miss Molly'. It arrived without any blooms or buds. I was worried about providing enough sun, my small property has many mature oak trees. I did manage to find a spot where I felt reasonably confident it'd get 6+ hours of direct sunlight. Our native soil in Oklahoma is mostly clay, so drainage was also a concern. I dug a hole large enough to easily fit a gallon-sized plant, then I surrounded the root ball with soil intended for cacti. Additionally, I updated my irrigation in that zone to drip, but I didn't set up an emitter near it. So far 'Miss Molly' is thriving! I've very happy, lots of growth and blooms.

      JACOB PALMER
      , Oklahoma
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
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