I have two of these https://www.plantdelights.com/products/buddleia-lindleyana

May get more, beautiful, they love the dc climate, and they are fine for butterflies and birds

I was at American plant just yesterday—I really wish they would make this a bit easier. I picked out some stuff that was marked as pollinator friendly and then saw the native section afterward but it wasn’t clearly marked and it’s not really clear which are the “bad” plants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so bummed about the butterfly bush … didn’t know it’s bad and just planted one
I have a tiny townhouse yard, can I keep it?

Personally, I think it's fine to have a mix of plants. I have a butterfly bush and also a lot of native flowers. I've been slowly turning the part of my yard that used to be grass into a little wild flower meadow. In your situation, I would keep it and try to add some natives that are good for pollinators in addition.

I agree with PP. There may come a time when you want to replace your butterfly bush with something native, but for now think about adding native plants and don’t worry about things you’ve planted in ignorance. We are all learning, and our gardening will change. I planted an ornamental cherry in my front yard two years ago. Now I am kicking myself, because there are so many native trees that would have done the same job - shade, screening, beauty - that I chose the cherry for. But I’m not going to chop down the cherry tree. I am going yo hack out a honeysuckle tree which is invasive, and I’ll replace that with a native. And I cut into the lawn a little more each year so that I have more room to plant, and now the shrubs and perennials I add are all native.

Anonymous wrote:I am so bummed about the butterfly bush … didn’t know it’s bad and just planted one
I have a tiny townhouse yard, can I keep it?

Personally, I think it's fine to have a mix of plants. I have a butterfly bush and also a lot of native flowers. I've been slowly turning the part of my yard that used to be grass into a little wild flower meadow. In your situation, I would keep it and try to add some natives that are good for pollinators in addition.

I have a few butterfly bushes that my mom gave me when we bought our house 11 years ago. Mine don't seem to make babies that I've noticed. My mom always taught me to cut them WAY back - like almost to the ground - every fall because they bloom on the new growth. Each year the grow large and beautiful. I had no idea they were actually bad for butterflies.

I planted clethra and buttonbush as alternatives to buddleias.

Yes you can keep it its a free country!