I live in Visalia, CA (I am told Zone 8), I have a south facing side of my home that I am getting ready to landscape. I would rather not put any trees in just yet, but rather put some Butterfly bushes in. Does anyone know wheter or not Butterfly bushes are hardy enough to withstand 100 degree temperatures in a South facing yard? OR does anyone have any suggestions of plants which might be a good choice (I would rather have something child and animal friendly, and drought hardy, if possible). Any suggestions are appreciated!
They perform (too) well here, though our climate is more maritime than what you'll have in the interior of California. I note that the Jepson manual (a Flora of California) does list the naturalized Buddleja species in CA, and shows them distributed along the coast, while the one native species is present in the Mojave Desert. Chances are, any of the cultivated varieties are going to require too much watering. As for alternative suggestions, I'll have to leave that to someone else more "in the know". Have you been to the Clovis Botanical Garden for ideas and inspiration?
Find your climate zone in the Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK and then look in the plant encyclopedia section to see if it falls within the range listed for the butterfly bush you are interested in.
thanks for everyones help! i will look at all the information you gave me and use it! as for the place in clovis, thanks for the info! i may take a ride up there tommorow to check that out.