Candy Crush

Jennifer Polanz

Traditionally, buddleia have been on the larger side of shrubs, taking up lots of real estate in the garden. That’s one of the reasons why the Butterfly Candy collection from Plant Development Services, Inc. stands out: these top out at about 2- to 3-ft. tall and wide at maturity. It’s part of what caught the eye of Kip McConnell, vice president of business development, when one of their partners in Europe sent it for trialing, along with the true colors of the blooms. “The collection’s petite size makes it an ideal choice for small spaces, containers and mass plantings, where it will offer abundant blooms from spring until the first frost,” he said.

The compact stature isn’t the only thing this collection has going for it. These blooms have the same fragrance across all five colors—a sweet and light, nectar-like scent that lives up to the name, Kip said. Those bloom colors are: Lil’ Raspberry (ruby), Lil’ Taffy (light pink), Lil’ Grape (deep purple), Lil’ Lavender (light purple) and Lil’ Coconut (bright white). And the bloom time is long and robust—these buddleia start in the spring and keep putting out blooms until the first frost. Once established, they’re water-wise, too, thriving in full sun in USDA Zones 5 to 10.

Consumers have lots of options with the collection. They can use them in mass plantings, for borders or even in mixed containers or monoculture containers.

The Marketing Side

Butterfly Candy is its own brand within the Plant Development Services, Inc. portfolio (along with well-established brands like the Southern Living Plant Collection, the Sunset Plant Collection, Encore Azaleas and Better Boxwood). As such, it has the support of robust marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns to get the word out to consumers.

For example, pre- and post-debut trade news reached more than 720,000 people, while consumer coverage in outlets like Martha Stewart and HGTV has created more than 530 million consumer impressions. They’ve partnered with garden content creators, too, like Jim Putnam of HortTube and Linda Vater to showcase Butterfly Candy in the home landscape.

All of this has resulted in a pretty enthusiastic reception at retail since the collection debuted in 2023, leading to expanded distribution in 2025.

“Retailers have cited the collection’s color-matching pots—reflective of each of the five varieties’ unique bloom hue—as a key marketing touchpoint that helps attract consumer attention in the competitive ornamental shrub space,” Kip said. “Sales have doubled in the collection’s first two years and we anticipate continued exponential growth in 2025.”

Plans for this year include more influencer partnerships to continue to get the brand in front of the consumer, as well as new retail signage. Word is there will be new bloom colors coming in the future, too.

Check out the Website

There’s a website for consumers, as well as more details for retailers, at www.butterflycandy.com.
On it, consumers can find:

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