Butterfly Bush
The Butterfly Bush gets its name because it attracts butterflies but it is also known for attracting other creatures to include fritillaries, tortoiseshells, honey bees, and swallowtail, all enjoying the sweet nectar of the blossoms. Officially known as “Buddleia”, there are more than 100 species and cultivars. These bushes are medium to large in size, making them an exceptional choice or forming a hedge, filling in space, or anchoring a perennial bed.
The only downside to the Butterfly Bush is that it is a vigorous and messy grower. In other words, the branches will begin to grow how and where they like so on-going trimming is required. The branches support beautiful lilac-like clusters of flowers, as well as side branches and blossoms. The fragrance of the blooms is sweet and pleasant, especially during the warmest par of the day. These flowers come in a variety of colors such as white, purple, pink, and red.
These bushes have a high tolerance to alkaline soil and air pollution, as well as being pet-free with the exception of the spider might seen during stress or drought. The Butterfly Bush prefers warm sun and well-drained soil. In the spring, a light fertilizer is suggested with deep watering in the summer months. Some of the easier varieties to grow include B. globosa, B. colvtlei, B. alternifolia, and B. asiatica, and to encourage a second blooming, you can prune the Butterfly Bush immediately after the first blossoming is complete.
Lilac Flowering Bushes
The Lilac Bush is a favorite because of the pleasant aroma and magnificent lilac-colored blooms. With proper care, a Lilac Bush can live hundreds of yeas. In addition to more than 1,000 varieties of Lilacs, they also come in a variety of colors, the most common being lilac, purple, pink, and white. The size of the Lilac bush also varies from four to eight feet with some extending upwards to 30 feet.
The blooms appear in the spring but only last a short time. To enhance the appearance of your property while enjoying the blooms and aroma of the Lilac, we recommend you grow early, mid, and late varieties. Although the blooms will die off in about four to six weeks, you are left with a green shrub that is beautiful in its own right. It is important to keep your Lilac flowering bush neatly pruned and trimmed annually for both appearance and health. Allow the bush to remain bushy but not so dense that inner leaves do not receive sunlight or air circulation.
Although Lilac Bushes are relatively hardy, they do have an occasional insect problem such as borers, ants, or aphids. The best solution is an organic insecticidal soap. The more common problem with the Lilac Bush is moles and mice that love to chew on the bark of the stems. For this, you can set a trip to avoid contaminating soil near the bush. Finally, powdery mildew is a common problem. For this, use an organic fungicide two to three times, one week apart as soon as the problem is identified.
Azaleas
Known as “Royalty of the Garden”, Azaleas come in thousands of varieties, each beautiful. Classified as a “species” or “hybrid”, Azaleas are also a very popular type of flowering bush. You will discover a wide selection of colors that include red, pink, orange, purple, white, and yellow, depending on the type of Azalea you purchase. What makes the Azalea so unique is the bloom, which varies dramatically on the different varieties, some one-half inch, some five inches.
The number of petals also depends on the type of Azalea. Single flowers typically have five petals although on rare occasion, you might see six. Hose-in-hose flowers can have up to 12 petals while a double hose-in-hose may have 30 or more. Additionally, Azaleas boast different shaped petals, again, depending on variety. The height of this bush ranges from just under one foot to four feet although there are varieties that grow well over 15 feet tall.
Azaleas generally bloom in the spring while some will bloom as late as September but only lasting one to two weeks. Most Azaleas do best with a high degree of shade, preferring slightly acid soil. You also want to keep moisture around the base of the bush, which can be done by using pine bark, wood chips, or pine needles. The most important aspect of growing Azaleas is good drainage. The best solution is to plant the bush so the root ball is exposed above ground by a few inches with the mulching pushed up around it for protection. He balance is that Azaleas also love moist soil at the roots.
As you can see, flowering bushes are an exciting way to enhance your home and property. Other excellent choices you might consider include:
Flowering Quince – Produces rose-like flowers with a magnificent scarlet bloom in the springtime.
Deutzia – Easy to grow, this flowering bush produces small flowers in the spring, which are usually white.
Dwarf Buckeye – Blossoming in the summer with 12-inch spikes.
Witch Hazel – This flowering bush can grow up to 20 feet, producing yellow, spidery flowers.
Forsythia – Wonderful for lining walls, this bush boasts drooping sprays of yellow flowers.
Hibiscus – Blooming in mid-summer, these flowers are exotic, large, and a purple, rose/pine, or white color.
Hydrangea – This showy bush has magnificent large blossoms in the summer with big blue globe-shaped clusters.
Honeysuckle – With a sweet aroma, the Honeysuckle is a climbing type of bush that is truly gorgeous.
Snowball – Perfect for hedging, high foundations, and screening because of its mature height of 10 to 12 feet, this bush produces white, snowball-shaped flowers with crimson colored foliage in the fall.
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