Damn, Miss Molly – Lowell Sun

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“Good God, Miss Molly. How beautiful you are.

This is just the response that one of my Facebook followers wrote upon seeing my post.

It was a statement of admiration for one of the best butterfly bushes on the market, not my amazing photo of a pipe swallowtail feeding on it. But that’s okay, Pat – I agree with you!

Miss Molly is 4 to 5 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide, maybe a little higher in the south. The flowers come in different shades of red depending on your area.

Some call it a red wine or sangria. At The Garden Guy, it’s a really nice festive red, and in a weird event, I have two. I never crash two of anything, but I digress.

Let’s get to a meaty question very quickly. In the Pacific Northwest, the butterfly bush has been determined to be invasive. A few other states have such statements.

Miss Molly, however, is NOT invasive and has been approved for sale in Oregon and Washington. I suspect it was fear of widespread promotion of butterfly bushes that made it mandatory to sell Miss Molly under the name “Summer Lilac”. This suits me perfectly, because Miss Molly has the scent of a rare perfume. The point is, you can plant Miss Molly anywhere in zones 5a through 9a without worrying about unwanted spread.

Miss Molly will offer everything you were looking for – a beautiful shape and size, and rare colorful flowers filled with butterflies. I planted mine in a bed with the Pugster Dwarf Butterfly Bushes, Limelight Prime Hydrangeas, and Fire Light Tidbit Hydrangeas. I also added tropical touches of giant elephant ears alocasia and a red Abyssinian banana. Right at the front of the bed I have Truffula Pink gomphrena and Rockin Playin the Blues salvia.

Like other buddleia, Miss Molly can grow in a variety of soils and soil pH. The mandatory requirement is drainage. Soggy, damp winter soil will be fatal for the butterfly bush, as well as a host of other landscape plants. The next requirement is sunlight. This is where The Garden Guy finds most of his challenges.

Even though I would say I lack the sun, I have just enough for the butterfly bush to thrive.

Miss Molly has other perks that will bring joy. In addition to being the most beautiful plant in the garden from summer to fall, it is resistant to both deer and rabbits. It is resistant to heat and humidity, as well as to temporary occasions of drought and dry soil. In addition to butterflies, you will also be home to bees and hummingbirds, which makes it a winner in my book!

I remember well the first buddleia I saw as a young ornamental horticulturalist at Mississippi State University. It was well over two stories tall. It had a rustic, gnarled appearance and grew next to an old farmhouse. Miss Molly will keep you more in the shrub business.

Either way, I highly recommend reading the Butterfly Bush Proven Winners Ultimate Care Guide, which is easy to find online.

Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden”. Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy. © 2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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