I’m posting about butterfly bushes, not butterfly weed. Butterfly bushes bloom on new wood and can withstand hard pruning. You can cut them back to 10 or 12 inches tall, and they will grow several feet in a season and reward you with many blooms on the new wood. Here in zone 7, we prune in late winter or early spring.
Butterfly bushes are great plants for everybody, but especially for beginners; they will grow almost anywhere and survive without special care.
My favorite is Black Knight-the blooms are dark purple.
