Native Plants

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Thursday - July 28, 2011

From: Johnson City, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Finding woolly butterfly bush from Johnson City TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Where can I find woolly butterfly bush? They are difficult to locate in the nurseries

ANSWER:

We think that perhaps Buddleja marrubiifolia (Woolly butterflybush) is difficult to find in Blanco County because it is native to the Chihuahuan Desert. This article from the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center describes the area and has a map showing that it involves only southwest Texas. This USDA Plant Profile map shows where woolly butterfly bush grows natively in Texas. We are guessing that there is not enough market in Central Texas (even though it sure feels like a desert right now) for nurseries to stock such a plant. And during our extreme drought and heat it is not a good time to transplant a woody plant, even a desert plant.

If you are determined to pursue finding this plant, we suggest you go to our National Suppliers Directory. Put your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box, and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and landscape consultants in your general area. All have contact information, so you can get in touch with them. Some might even be willing to order the plant for you; again, we don't recommend planting anything right now, and you should not purchase a plant until you are ready to plant it.

From the Image Gallery

Woolly butterflybush
Buddleja marrubiifolia