Butterfly bush Lo and Behold ‘Blue Chip’

* Common name: Butterfly bush Lo and Behold(R) ‘Blue Chip’

* Botanical name: Buddleia davidii

* What it is: A flowering shrub that’s the most compact butterfly bush yet. Gets blue/purple cone-shaped flowers from mid-summer through frost and is not a liberal seeder as some butterfly bushes can be.

* Size: 3 feet tall and wide.

* Where to use: Sunny borders, perennial gardens or any sunny island garden. Even compact enough for use along southern and western foundations or for lining driveways. Full sun is best. Avoid wet areas.

* Care: Scatter organic granular fertilizer such as Flower-tone around base in March. Keep damp the first season, then water only in a bad drought. One of the most drought-tough choices. If size-control pruning is needed, cut the plant back as far as ankle high in early spring before new growth begins. Snip off spent flower cones if you like to keep the plant neat and to encourage continuing bloom.

* Great partner: Pink creeping phlox, dianthus ‘Firewitch’ (perennials) or pink vinca (annual).