{"id":1654,"date":"2021-11-02T23:48:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T23:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gardenecologylab\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T22:30:54","slug":"2021-butterfly-bush-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gardenecologylab\/2021\/11\/02\/2021-butterfly-bush-update\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Butterfly Bush Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Field season wrap up is underway in the butterfly bush plot, and there is so much to reflect on this year!  The team has had a very productive summer, and as these bushes are better established and have reached their full spread and height, they have become more attractive to pollinators.  As a reminder, the butterfly bush (Buddleja<\/em> spp.) test plot consists of 34 butterfly bush cultivars of ranging fertility, habit, and breeding complexity.  We have 6 -9 replicates of each individual cultivar, totaling 222 plants in the complete replicated block. The plot represents all the past and present (yes, we have some experimental cultivars) breeding that has been conducted to reduce fertility and hopefully invasiveness of Buddleja davidii<\/em>.  Much of that breeding centers around interspecific hybridization (breeding between 2 or more species in the same genus), so our plot represents hybridization of 7 different Buddleja<\/em> species!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer we conducted pollinator observations the same as last year.  This consisted of 5-minute timed counts at each location in full flower (we are calling full flower 50% or more of the buds or flowers on the individual plant are fully open) each week.  During the timed count, we identify all visitors to morphology- which is simply differentiating between honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies, and other morphotypes.  This presented new challenges this year because of the sheer mass some of our plants have reached!  Though they were spaced 8 feet apart on all sides at planting, some have grown in together, making access an occasional issue.  Many of the full-sized cultivars also reach well over my head, presenting more challenges in accurate counting.  The team pushed through these difficulties, and by the end of the season we had counted 7,597 individual visitations on the plot.  This is over 2,000 more than last year!  You can view overall visitations by cultivar for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n