@molanic If you sheet mulch the area right around the butterfly bush every winter, it's a great backup in case you ever miss any sneaky seed pods. I'm in WA state so butterfly bushes are RIGHT OUT... I'm jealous of those who can have them, since like you say, so many amazing photos of butterflies are on those delightful gorgeous blossoms. Also lantana. So invasive, so attractive to butterflies. Arrrrgh.
I'm consoling myself with a lot of host plants this year, and going to try giving butterflies a nice place to puddle, with lots of minerals.
Here's the link to the USDA's invasive species information center. You can click on your state and get the low down on what not to plant (no matter how pretty!
)
https://www.invasivespeciesinf...
Edit: Woops, that's the top-level link. Here's the one specific to plants, not ALL species of all kinds:
https://plants.usda.gov/java/n...
