PlantFiles: Butterfly Bush, Oxford Bush, Cambridge Bush
Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense'

This Clerodendrum sometimes referred to as blue butterflies for obvious reasons, is a great plant. Becoming more readily available at nurseries. I have several of these plants in my yard (zone 8B) and they begin flowering from late June until first frost. They can take a harsh pruning which can result in another round of more vigorous flowering. This year we had 2 nights with back to back lows of 21oF which killed them to the ground. New growth started emerging around mid April and by the end of July some branches are over 8 feet tall. They can be cut when 2-3 feet high to force branching make it bushier. Unlike other clerodendrums (here in north Florida) Ugandense is not invasive. If you want to attract bees into your yard this plant will do the trick. The flowers are exquisite and guarantee to turn heads, well worth trying this plant in zone 8.

I like others bought this plant at WalMart. Could not resist the fasinating flowers. Read some of the plant files about softwood cuttings, so we took the plunge and cut off some of the leggy branches a couple of months ago, My DH stuck about 8 of them in the ground. A couple of days later I pulled them up to put "Root tone" on them, which my DH had not done. Well today "Glory be to God" we have leaves growing on about 4 of these cuttings. WOW, what a wonderful suprise. We are kind of new to "serious gardening" and this is (to say the least) very encouraging. look forward to sharing this wonderful plant with friends and other empty spots in our yard

This plant is doing OK in my sunroom, but the flowers only last one day and it's not that generous with it's flowers. If I was offered this plant knowing what I know now, I'd pass. I can use the space for something much more interesting.

I purchased two of these at WalMart last year. They are both standards. I kept them in pots outside all summer (Zone 7). I overwintered them in my unheated garage taking them out for some sun on warm days. Most of the leaves fell off. I took them back outside once the temperatures remained above freezing. They are once again in full bloom and an excellent source of nectar for bees, butterflies and the occasional hummingbird. It is an easy to care for plant. It does not mind the heat and if it does wilt from lack of water a quick drink revives it. What I like most about this plant is the delicate flowers.

(zone 7, Raleigh NC) This beautiful plant caught my eye in Home Depot this past Sunday the 7th, where it was being sold as a small tree (appx 5ft high with a baby or two growing in the pot). The employees there knew nothing about it, not even its name. I adored it, with its small, pretty blue butterfly shaped flowers, but no one employed at the time could tell me how to take care of it.

After I bought it a different employee came up and told me it was a tropical and needed to be brought inside during cold months in our area. Other than that, like the rest of them, he knew nothing about it. D'oh!!! I didn't want a houseplant, I wanted it in my garden! I've never had luck with flowering houseplants for some reason-- I'm chalking it up to not having the right windows or something-- but everything flourishes in my gardens. So I stood in line and returned it.

I came home and Googled "small blue butterfly shaped flowers" and discovered the name of the plant. I read all over how easy it is to grow, even as a houseplant. The pictures of the unique, cute, healthy flowers thriving amongst the shiny green leaves convinced me-- I had to have it, even as a houseplant. So I went back to Home Depot and bought it again, and this time took it home!

I have it in front of a window on the east side of my house-- it's the best window in the house for light. It is now Thursday the 11th and my plant has already lost all of its flowers and the buds are all dropping off!! D'oh!! What am I doing wrong? The leaves look okay. I haven't given in too much water because all the instructions for care I've read say not to overwater, but it's not overly dry either. I'm disappointed already. At least Home Depot has a one year warranty...

Beautiful shrub that is root hardy in this area. Cut back to ground in winter, and prune to encourage bushiness as it grows. Otherwise it will get tall, lanky canes that tend to fall over. Mine has full sun until about 1 PM.

I picked up one of these beautiful specimens at Wal-Mart & have had it for 3 years now. I grow it in a pot due to very hard clay dirt in my locale. This plant is my favorite. Very low maintenance & sooo pretty. I cut this plant back to a nub the first winter I had it, I thought I had killed it but refused to throw it away & it came back bigger & healthier than before. I may plant it in a bigger pot so it will grow bigger than the 2 feet it is slowly approaching.

This plant is a tender perennial in Zone 8b. I keep it in a well-drained pot and bring it in when the weather gets cold and keep it on my screened in porch. It lived and I moved it back out when the weather warmed up.

Very profuse bloomer and intriguing flower. Adds a unique character to the garden!

I saw a huge bush of this growing under a deodar cedar at the SC state capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. zone 8a/8b
it was about 3 years ago, and ive been wondering what it was all this time

I am so very happy to have this plant! I have been looking for it for a long time and finally got a big one Sat.
I have not planted it yet but I will plant it in a semi sun area.
Tricia

I saw these last year in Hong Kong in a public gardens and thought they were incredible. I just found one at Baker's Nursery in Phoenix and planted it this weekend.
Hope it does well, I am optimistic here in Phoenix, AZ

Last week my plant was just beautiful and then we had a really hard rain and now it is naked. Since it enjoys partial sun, may be nice under a high trellis that may protect it from the rain.

I have had this wonderful plant for two years and just this a.m. found out on Google what it was and how to get other variations of it. My friends all over the U. S. wanted information. I'd sent out pictures on email of the bees & butterflies working the flowers. I have Happenstance, a 5x5 ft bush here and want Floridian to try to prune to tree shape along the back of my garden. I'm in Foley, Alabama. Just at the northern edge of the coastal area. It dies back in winter and pops right back in spring. This is a great plant!!

Joanne Barrios, Des Allemands, La. (zone 9)

This is my most favorite of all plants. It was given to me as a gift, and I have sucessfully made several cuttings from it and shared it with friends. It will be a rare addition to the D.A. Catfish Festival every July! See you at the plant booth!

I just purchased this at a local nursery (so I guess you can find it sometimes in a nursery) and THEN read the comments (kinda' like the cart before the horse). It sure is sweet. Most have said "part sun" and others say "sun". I'm so short on shade I may have to try it in more sun and see how it does.

I purchased my butterfly flower while I was living in Pensacola, Florida 1-1/2 years ago. I have moved back to my home of Baton Rouge, Louisiana on 12/31/04. I dug up and moved the bush with me since it was still small. I have had great success with it here. I just dug it up to move it to a better location and found I had two plants which appeared to be one (nice bonus). It overwintered here very well, even through several hard freezes. All it did was lose it's leaves. I have never seen these for sale in nurseries, but think they should be.

This plant gets its name from its 2 toned blue butterfly-shaped flowers.

This shrub does wonderfully in the ground here in west Houston. Blooms constantly from May until frost. It always freezes back to ground level every winter for me. New growth commences from ground level (not on old wood). The plant is a good 8' tall and about 6' wide here. I love it and would not be without one! Bees particularly love it. In fact, it's one of the biggest bee magnets in my yard.

A superb plant for light and dark blue contrasting blooms. Also a great backdrop for other, lower growing plants and flowers.

Hardy, dependable, showy -- like its relative, the Pagoda Flower (C. paniculatum), it flowers here in 9a in mid- to late-summer, when many other flowers have burned out or are dormant. I have mine in full sun now, but I know from observation that they grow better with some sun, and require less water. It roots so easily that cutting can be jammed into the ground, where they'll rapidly root in damp, warm weather (which is about 8 months of the year here...). I've never seen this plant for sale in the nurseries or home centers -- it's a pass-along plant.
A really elegant flower, but not much impact from a distance -- plant this somewhere for close observation or use it for a cut flower.

It was hard to believe that I received the top Horticulture Award of Excellence in a flower show. I planted it in an area where I dump raked leaves for use later, and it did get about 10' tall. It grows where there is part sun and shade. I didn't know that it can be trimmed, and I will certainly do that to make it bushier. I recommend this plant, but plant it where it will have plenty of room to grow. I don't have any problems with pests and so far I haven't seen it being an invasive plant like some Cleredendrums.

DaisyJen

This is one of my most highly rated plants because it is always in bloom and excels in easy care in the pot or in the ground. You will lose it if ground is flooded for long periods, but it withstands drought easily. It is a perfect pot plant and takes trimming very well. Those trimmings easily become new plants to share. One of my MUST haves, it will always be a part of my garden. DR

In zone 8a, I tried to grow this plant in a large pot with morning sun and afternoon shade. It grew beautifully all summer but despite adding a mulch of pine needles, it has not come back this year. Should probably be treated as an annual anywhere colder than zone 9b.

This clerdendrum is a real show stopper! Here on the west coast of Central Florida, it enjoys a part sun location and reasonable watering. Soil should be well drained, as too much moisture will kill it. Reproduction is through seed or cuttings, the later preferrable. Cuttings may be rooted in a glass of water, sand, or damp seed starting mix. No hormone powder required. Pruning keeps it chubby and flowering. With patience it may also be trained into a specimen tree. See photo. Higly recommend this one!

Clerodendrum ugandense, (Blue Butterfly Flower) is an upright grower, with canes which can reach 10' tall, though the height is usually under 6';plants are easily kept shorter by shearing.

Practically everblooming, with 1" blue-violet flowers on long, thin stalks at the tops of the plants. Flowers are reminiscent of butterflies in shape. Plant in rich, moist, well drained soil in partial shade. Zones 8-11.

I have observed that plant form seems to vary, but flowers remain unchanged. I have a specimen from Florida that has thickened ovate leaves with smooth margins, woody stems and a specimen from Houston that is more herbaceous: thinner, fuzzier leaves (oval with serrated margins), square stems on new growth at ends of branches, non-woody.branches. Both plants have identical flowers, borne in the same manner.

A long time bloomer with flowers one right after the other. A nice tropical plant to have. Okay to keep indoors in a colder climate as it can be pruned nicely. Aphids are a problem though.

This shrub is an evergreen shrub in the deep coastal south. Its dark green glossy leaves are 4 inches long and the pistil and stamens arch outward and upward, looking like butterflies.