Butterfly bushes are fast growing and long blooming. This variety has deep purple flowers, so dark as to almost appear black. It is a striking cut flower, because it can grow on spikes up to 10 inches long. The plant will grow to 6 feet tall and as wide, and once established can live with very little water. It blooms from late June through frost - encourage plenty of re-bloom by deadheading spent flowers. Pruning the plant heavy, often back to just 2 to 3 feet in early spring, encourages plenty of side branches and low hanging flowers for the hordes of butterflies and hummingbirds that will come to visit!