Let Darkest Night™ cast its spell over the garden. Its deep, shadow-toned blooms held on a graceful, mid-size frame create an instant mood shift, from ordinary to enchantingly obscure. It plays beautifully with structure or softness, depending on what surrounds it. All that intrigue comes wrapped in resilience, too, thanks to its standout drought and heat tolerance.

• 4-6 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide at maturity
• Hardy in zones 5-10, be sure to check your USDA zone to ensure success
• Plant in full sun (8+ hours daily)
• Space plants 3-5 feet apart for best results
• Produces deep purple, near black flowers throughout summer and fall
• Maintains green foliage spring to frost
• Blooms on new wood
• Great for borders, containers, cottage gardens, foundation plantings, mass plantings
• Attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and resists deer, rabbits
• Drought tolerant, heat tolerant, long blooming, dwarf habit
• Shrubs shipped Nov-Apr will arrive dormant; shrubs shipped Apr-Oct will arrive green or in bloom

Care: Fertilize with Proven Winners Continuous Release Plant Food in spring.

Pruning: Prune in spring, after the new growth emerges. Remove weak branches in the middle and about 1/2 to 2/3 of the height and width. Make cuts just about 1/4 of an inch above a bud. Dead or damaged wood can be removed at any time, just cut back to a set of leaves.

Soil: Butterfly bushes need perfect drainage. Their roots are sensitive to rotting, and if they spend any amount of time in wet soil, they can be set back or even die. They can grow in clay soil, but need to be planted a few inches above soil level. This creates a small “hill” that encourages water to drain away from the plant rather than settle around it.

Planting: Never amend the soil when planting a butterfly bush. Amending the soil, particularly clay soil, can cause drainage problems. Avoid mulching directly around your butterfly bush. Mulch is a great idea for other plants, but in clay soil, it can hold too much moisture. Go ahead and mulch your beds, but give your butterfly bush a bit of clearance, and never mulch all the way up to the main stems.

Dormancy: Butterfly bushes tend to be one of the later plants to leaf out in spring. Even if everything else in your landscape is turning green, that doesn’t mean you’ve lost your butterfly bush. If you're worried, try the scratch test. Lightly scratch at a few branches with your fingernail. If there is green underneath, the plant is still alive.

Shipping Info:

• Enjoy free shipping on orders over $175
• Size at shipping varies by season, plant, and trimming schedules
• Quart shrubs are 5-8 in tall and 6 months to 1 year old at shipment
• 1 Gallon shrubs are 6-24 in tall and about 1 year old at shipment

PLEASE NOTE: Due to State Laws This Product Cannot be Shipped to the Following States: OR, WA

Read our guide to get started with planning a garden