Rio Grande Butterfly Bush

Rio Grande Butterfly Bush, native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Arizona and central and northern Mexico, grows in thorn savannahs and forests, and riparian zones and along roadside. In the Valley, it is generally found close to the Rio Grande. Rio Grande butterfly bush is attractive and highly beneficial. It easily adapts to residential landscaping or community butterfly and nectar gardens. It flowers spring through summer, providing nectar for butterflies, moths, bees, other insects and hummingbirds. Plant in full sun to partial shade in well-draining soil; it benefits from a weekly watering schedule in summer. The shrub can grow to 6 ½ feet tall and about as wide. Arching branches drape to the ground.

Up close, you'll see the clusters of hundreds of tiny pale-yellow blooms at the leaf axils. The leaf blades are covered in fine hairs that give the shrub a silvery hue. The flower clusters have a pleasant earthy scent.