If your garden had a spotlight, ‘Miss Ruby’ would be in it. With shockingly vibrant pink-purple blooms that seem to glow against lush green foliage, this bold beauty isn’t shy—and neither are the butterflies and hummingbirds it attracts in droves.
Her flowers aren’t just eye-catching—they’re long, lavish, and long-lasting, providing an open invitation to pollinators all summer long. Whether you're a shutterbug chasing the perfect shot or simply someone who loves a buzzing, blooming garden, Miss Ruby delivers the drama.
And yes, she's got the looks and the manners. Non-invasive by nature, Miss Ruby plays well with others in pollinator patches, cottage gardens, and sunny borders. No guilt, no hassle—just electric color and pollinator joy from summer through fall. Turn up the volume in your landscape with this unforgettable garden star!
- 4-5 feet tall and wide at maturity
- Hardy in zones 5-9, be sure to check your USDA zone to ensure success
- Plant in full sun (8+ hours daily)
- Space plants 4-5 feet apart for best results
- Produces fragrant deep pinky-purple flowers from summer through fall
- Maintains green foliage late spring to frost
- Blooms on new wood
- Great for borders, landscapes and mass planting
- Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds while resisting deer and rabbits
- Heat and drought tolerant, long blooming
Care: Fertilize with Proven Winners Continuous Release Plant Food in spring.
Pruning: Prune in spring, after the new growth emerges. Remove weak branches in the middle and about 1/2 to 2/3 of the height and width. Make cuts just about 1/4 of an inch above a bud. Dead or damaged wood can be removed at any time, just cut back to a set of leaves.
Soil: Butterfly bushes need perfect drainage. Their roots are sensitive to rotting, and if they spend any amount of time in wet soil, they can be set back or even die. They can grow in clay soil, but need to be planted a few inches above soil level. This creates a small “hill” that encourages water to drain away from the plant rather than settle around it.
Planting: Never amend the soil when planting a butterfly bush. Amending the soil, particularly clay soil, can cause drainage problems. Avoid mulching directly around your butterfly bush. Mulch is a great idea for other plants, but in clay soil, it can hold too much moisture. Go ahead and mulch your beds, but give your butterfly bush a bit of clearance, and never mulch all the way up to the main stems.
Dormancy: Butterfly bushes tend to be one of the later plants to leaf out in spring. Even if everything else in your landscape is turning green, that doesn’t mean you’ve lost your butterfly bush. If you're worried, try the scratch test. Lightly scratch at a few branches with your fingernail. If there is green underneath, the plant is still alive.
Shipping Info:
- Enjoy free shipping on orders over $175
- Size at shipping varies by the season and plant
- Quart shrubs are 5-8 in. at the time of shipment
- 1 Gallon shrubs are 6-24 in. at the time of shipment
- Shrubs shipped Nov-Apr will arrive dormant; shrubs shipped Apr-Oct will arrive green or in bloom
Please Note: This non-invasive variety is approved for sale in Oregon and Washington, though it will be called a "summer lilac" instead of a "butterfly bush.
Read our guide to get started with planning a garden
