I live on Vancouver Island where things tend to grow extremely well. I love the looks of butterfly bush and was hoping to get one until I attended a talk on alien invasive species. Butterfly bush was right up there along with yellow flag irises, giant hogweed, knotweed and daphne. These invasive species are taking over so that native plants are dying out and consequently wildlife is losing food sources and habitat. I'm sure butterfly bush is native somewhere but it's a bad idea for this area! I've already spent hours trying to dig out the matted mass of yellow iris rhizomes from a small pond in my garden. I don't know if I'll ever get them out. They are so pretty when they bloom but who knew? The Canadian government has invasive species resources for identification and offers alternatives for planting. I'd encourage all of us to do our homework before we bring home that "vigorous" plant from the nursery!
I live on Vancouver Island where things tend to grow extremely well. I love the looks of butterfly bush and was hoping to get one until I attended a talk on alien invasive species. Butterfly bush was right up there along with yellow flag irises, giant hogweed, knotweed and daphne. These invasive species are taking over so that native plants are dying out and consequently wildlife is losing food sources and habitat. I'm sure butterfly bush is native somewhere but it's a bad idea for this area! I've already spent hours trying to dig out the matted mass of yellow iris rhizomes from a small pond in my garden. I don't know if I'll ever get them out. They are so pretty when they bloom but who knew? The Canadian government has invasive species resources for identification and offers alternatives for planting. I'd encourage all of us to do our homework before we bring home that "vigorous" plant from the nursery!