They all look about the same to me, Christie. They're blooming on the sides of the road now, but, of course, since the roads get mowed, they don't grow very tall. Mine is about ?12' tall and about that wide.
They grow in wet areas - there are quite a few blooming in the same area as Asclepias lanceolata, the subject of a long thread. They must have a lot of nectar, and they're equally attractive to butterflies and bees.
I've never seen 'Sputnik' so I don't know if the flowers are really that much bigger than average - sometimes nurserymen promote plants as being superior in some way when they're really not. I got my bush by taking a cutting from a roadside bush - they're real easy to root.
Sherry

Sherry - Do they bloom even if they're mowed Sherry? Maybe I should plant a bunch in our hayfield. : ) Queen Anne's Lace has no problem blooming after being cut for hay.

Apparently so, Christie. I went by there this afternoon to check on the Asclepias lanceolata seed pods - they're STILL not ripe - and made some pictures of some of the buttonbushes. The stems on the buttonbushes growing on the south side of the creek are the same color as mine, but the stems on the bushes on the north of the creek/stream are bright red. I don't know why this would be, but I think the red is prettier. You can see that they're only a few feet tall -
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Queen Anne's lace doesn't grow down here, but it does in north MS, and I've noticed that the fields it grows in are real dry. Buttonbush likes it wet, growing naturally in bogs or by the sides of rivers and creeks - you don't have to have a bog to grow it, but it won't grow in constantly dry soil either.
Sherry

The seed of buttonbush remain viable for a very long time, too. I got some seed from someone in Missouri back in 2006. I was emptying out some of my old seed this spring, and found that packet that I had never planted, and decided to see what might happen. Nearly every one of them came up and I weeded them down to the 2 strongest which are growing very nicely now. Just in case anyone ever decides to try from seed - they are very, very easy.

Susan

That's good to know, Susan. I have several people who want buttonbushes and I'm trying some cuttings. If I can't get them to root, I'll try seeds.

Found a new butterfly nectar plant this week. A new butterfly friend sent me a picture of it on Facebook. It's a Sourwood. Today I got to see it and it was still covered with butterflies. The leaves remind me of Buttonbush. I ordered one from Nature Hills for my backyard.