Miss Ruby Butterfly Bush Buddleja 'Miss Ruby'

'Miss Ruby' is part of the butterfly bush series developed at the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina through the plant breeding efforts of Dr. Dennis Werner of NC State University. It was a hybrid cross of Buddleja 'White Ball' and Buddleja davidii 'Attraction'.

'Miss Ruby' Butterfly Bush has an upright, global shape with numerous lateral branches.  Its dense growth and compact habit make it useful both as a specimen plant and for use in mixed plantings. Like other  Buddleja, 'Miss Ruby' performs best with full sun and well-drained soil. It is reliably cold hardy but will benefit from winter mulching. It may die back to the ground in colder zones but will resume growth from the crown the following spring. In regions where above-ground shoots survive over winter,  plants may require occasional moderate pruning to maintain the desired compact growth. 'Miss Ruby' blooms on new wood.  

It is tolerant of all soil types. In clay soil,  plant 'Miss Ruby' slightly above, rather than even with, the soil level and amend with compost for best results. Water needs are average, once established it is drought tolerant. 

'Miss Ruby' attracts butterflies in abundance.  In 2008 the United Kingdom's Royal Horticultural Society plant popularity poll ranked 'Miss Ruby' as its number one (out of 97 varieties) butterfly bush cultivar!

Like each of the 'Miss' series, 'Miss Ruby' is non-invasive, as it produces few seeds and rarely suckers in the ground.