Pugster^® Amethyst Butterfly Bush Buddleia x

I live in NC in Zone 7B. I initially purchased and planted 2 of these in spring of 2022. Both are in the same flower bed, which faces west. They are right at 5 feet apart from each other with the mailbox in between them. This bed gets a lot of late afternoon sun. The one bush is thriving. The other was dead by the end of summer. Thinking maybe, I didn't keep it elevated enough, and maybe overwatered it. I replaced the dead one in the fall of 2022 and backed off on the watering especially this spring (2023) as we had a pretty wet one. Once again, plant seemed to be doing okay but was dead by the end of July. When I pulled the plant out of the ground, the roots were crispy / dead. Because, I refuse to be defeated on this, I've purchased another replacement for the side of the bed that keeps dying and will hopefully figure out what the problem is before I plant it. At this point the only thing that I can come up with is that the one that is on the other side of this bed and is thriving gets some reprieve from the harsh afternoon sun thanks to the mailbox providing it with some shade where as the one that keeps dying does not get any reprieve from the sun. I purchased the butterfly bush for this spot because I was lead to believe that it thrives in the conditions that bed faces (crappy soil, full sun, etc.).

I have 4 of these Pugster Amethyst Butterfly Bushes that I planted last fall. I took your advice and planted them high instead of level with the ground and they get 10+ hours of full sun everyday. The bushes are producing flowers non-stop and the leaves are a vivid green. They are beautiful and look great with my yellow Stella De Oro Lillies and my Buttered Popcorn Lillies. I have been very pleased with these and will be buying more in the near future. I highly recommend them in zone 8a.

I've grown 2 of these bushes in containers the past 2 summers. It was absolutley gorgeous, bloomed all summer & attracted many pollinators. Unfortunately they did not survive our Ohio winters in the pots. I figured I must've done something wrong the 1st winter & didn't protect it properly so I begrudgingly trashed it & replaced with a new one. I was sure to move this second plant to a more protected area & cover accordingly during harsh winter weather. It still didn't make it. Makes me sad to loose TWO such beautiful plants, but they just won't make it through a winter in a pot, in Southern Ohio. Take warning!

Just love this plant ! It is covered in blooms since we planted it in June, once a bloom dies it is replaced with two blooms ! We have never has this many butterflies in our yard and the plant always has a group of butterflies on it. Nice compact plant, very sturdy. Pretty much just watered it and fed it twice, it is going gangbusters ! Can't wait to purchase more next spring !