howdy, got a quick question on an idea i have... i was wondering if i planted a bunch of black knight butterfly bushes in a row about 5 feet apart in a 50ft stretch would it be that much of a hazard since they attract some bee's as well as butterflies? i want to plant a lot of these bushes around my yard on both sides and since i have 2 young kids was wondering if it would be a bad idea because of swarms of bee's coming in? any advice would be great, thanks! GN
My children, when they were younger, used to sit on the lawn and watch all the bees and butterflies that these bushes had visiting them. I'm sure if you told your kids simply to look but not touch then there wouldn't be a problem.
Kids learn fast about bees and they would only get stung once for sure. When one of my sons was just three a bee landed in their wading pool. He just stuck his hand under it and lifted it out. He was really mad at the bee when it stung him because he was just helping it so it wouldn't drown. He was never stung again. I guess he let the bees drown after that.I'm not sure I would let my kids get stung to learn things but sometimes it happens. dooley
we moved into this house 4 or 5 years ago and it had already got established plants so it was cool to inherit and watch the new plants come up each year. Im adding stuff when i can, i planted a nice light purple butterfly bush a year ago and it will probably look pretty good this year with the trim i gave it. There is some stuff in the yard that the bees like that i wasnt aware of when planting... ...the lambs ear that is kind of too close to the back porch is a favorite. I never knew they were bee magnets, they love the lil lavender looking flowers on the spikes.. they do keep around the plant and dont seem to bother us though. my kids are pretty good at not messing with stuff so im not too worried about them i just didnt want excessive bee's with so many bushes in the yard. not sure what im gonna do yet on the mass butterfly planting. I know i'll probably put some out front of the house and in the far back with the jungle looking stuff. Just not to sure about a lot down the sides though.. thanks for the advice..
I love the butterfly bushes, but be forewarned that they do self-sow like crazy in my area. You might want to check with a local Extension Agency or Master Gardeners to see how they do in your area. There are also different varieties, some that are smaller, so get pretty big. I had one that turned into a small tree, twenty feet tall and wide, and I had unwittingly planted it only 10 feet from the house. In five years it had developed a twelve inch trunk. (It had to be removed) The bees visiting butterfly bushes are so engrossed in the bushes we have never had any problem with them. The hummingbirds love them also. Gardening is always an adventure!
even though the bushes dont die back in my area i do plan on cutting them back early spring which ive heard is good for there shape and for maximum blooms in the season ahead. Im gonna try to dead head this season which i havnt really done before... we dont have any laws against butterfly bushes here in NC so i think im ok with mass plantings.....i read stuff like this only gets out of hand if its near a waterway or something where seeds can travel? can someone explain the self-sowing to me more? right now i have 1 baby black knight and white profusion that i just bought from a small local garden center for 5 bucks each. The plants look really nice and are the best deals ive seen around. The big garden centers like Home Depot aand Lowes dont even have theres out for sale yet and charge like 10 bucks each. I purchased 6 butterfly bushes a few weeks ago from another place called Freds and those were not very impressive, i probably should have waited. They were 5 bucks a piece but consisted of a stick and some roots with a couple of leaves on. These arent labeled with anything but white, red and purple and im not sure how many of these will survive. From now on i will be going straight to the lil garden center that sells the nice named ones for 5 bucks!
In my old yard (recently moved) I use to deadhead my butterfly bushes and I noticed more blooms. My butterfly bushes attracted hummingbird moths in the evening right at dusk.
really nice pic there.. i havnt planted my line of bushes yet but i have a few in pots.. gonna work on buying some more bushes soon and planting the ones i have. ive seen a few of those moths around my established butterfly bush, its amazing how much they look like the bird.
