Summer is a time when many flowers are blooming, but gardeners should be aware that while many plants may look pretty they can be highly invasive. 

Buddleia, also known as summer lilac or butterfly bush, is a beautiful shrub that can commonly be found in British gardens and is known for its distinctive cone flowers which come in a variety of colours. 

It produces a sweet honey-scented fragrance that is highly attractive to butterflies and bumblebees and also produces a high level of nectar to help pollinators during the summer. 

What is wrong with butterfly bush? 

While buttery bush may seem harmless it is very difficult to get rid of once it makes its way into your garden due to its prolific seed production, and this weed will outcompete native plants for resources which will prevent their growth. 

While butterfly bush is not illegal to have in your garden like many invasive plants it has often been compared to Japanese knotweed due to how uncontrollable it can quickly become.

Rachel, a gardening expert and founder of Rachel the Gardener, has shared that what makes butterfly bush so destructive is that many people will not know it is damaging their garden until it is too late. 

She said: “Buddleia are little devils for seeding everywhere (a single plant can produce a million seeds, apparently), and the seedlings are so neat and innocuous that they are often overlooked by the garden owner.”

It can also damage fences, walls or even guttering as its seeds can land in cracks or crevices, begin to grow at a very fast rate and eventually cause structural damage. 

How do you get rid of butterfly bush? 

Removing butterfly bush could help you avoid a ruined garden or even save you hundreds of pounds in property damage, but while this plant is tricky to kill it is not impossible. 

Rachel explained that the best way to get rid of this invasive weed is to cut it down and then dig out the roots. She said: “Get the loppers and take off as much of the top growth as you can, and get rid of it.

“[Then] get the bowsaw, and saw the trunks down to about knee height. Make sure to take off as many side branches as you can – the idea is to be able to work all around it without being poked in the eye every five minutes.” 

Once the plant has been turned into a stump then use a small trowel to begin digging out the roots. Make sure to use knee pads or a kneeler to make the job much easier and make sure to keep the soil to one side for easy access. 

Rachel said: “There’s nothing more maddening than soil continually falling back into the hole you are trying to dig!”

When the roots are exposed, cut them down using your loppers, but if the stump is too big then continue to dig it out until it completely gives away from the soil. 

Being able to identify butterfly bushes is also the key is getting rid of them before they become an issue, so look out for tall shrubs which blossom in summer, lance-shaped leaves and large clustered flowers which come in purple, blue, pink, white and yellow. 

Other signs of butterfly bush tend to be lots of butterflies and bumbles surrounding the plant and can produce small, capsule-like fruits which contain thousands of tiny seeds which spread though th wind.