Not being in your area, I will toss out my 2 cents worth, but am quite open to being over-ruled - - I would wait until the leaves fell off, watering it well a day or 2 before you plan to move it, then cut it back enough that you can easily move the bush (not as far as you would normally do in the spring, since you might well get more winter-killed branches than you usually do), and shift it to its new location then. In the spring, as soon as you see any new growth, I would cut it back as far as you normally do, taking off any winter-killed branch ends at a minimum. In the mean-time, I would keep the newly transplanted bush watered (on an as-needs schedule, not on a timed schedule - stick a finger down about 2" into the soil, and water only if it is dry at that depth), mulch well ( no deeper than 4", as widely as possible, and no mulch in the couple of inches next to the trunk) and keep watering through the next year.

Purple, I will warn about any plant I know to be invasive in my area (zone 8, Pacific Northwest, especially the Puget Sound area). A good number of plant species that are invasive in other parts of the country have not (yet) proven to be so here. And vice versa. Some - like Buddleia - have been found to be very problematic here but not so much elsewhere. Invasiveness is very regionally oriented :-) And while I have defended Vinca minor (not V. major) as not being a particularly invasive species in my area, I do caution against planting it close to any natural or wooded area because it can and will spread. But it is not to the point of it being considered a noxious weed or a listed invasive species. OTOH, I defy anyone to find where I have ever, ever defended Hedera helix on any of these forums. I won't even recommend this plant in areas where it is not considered to be particularly invasive (typically only those areas cold enough to kill it back in winter!!) because it provides an excellent habitat for all manner of vermin. And in the PNW, this plant is perhaps the most pervasive invasive plant problem we deal with. And it is everywhere. Buddleia davidii is an especially prolific and fertile seeder. Each flower head can contain as much as 40,000 seeds and with an 80% germination viability. That's a whole lotta potential butterfly bushes!! And you do see them growing wild in my area - in the cracks of abandoned parking lots, in vacant lots, along railroad tracks and the sides of the road and freeway verges. And most disturbing are the large colonies of these shrubs found along streamsides and cleared areas throughout western Washington and Oregon. They outcompete native habitat, in particular our native shrub willows, which are the preferred habitat for our native butterfly species. I'm not saying BB is invasive everywhere - again, with any invasive species it is location, location, location! However I know specifically where Cadence is located, which just north of my own location, and plants which are invasive here will also tend to be invasive there. As part of a consumer awareness program sponsored by our state invasive species council, the regional professional landscape and nursery association and a consortium of local retail nurseries, a publication recommending alternate suggestions for invasive plants has been made available. Substitutes for BB include west coast natives Ceanothus and Pacific ninebark as well as chaste tree. And of course, the new sterile BB cultivars recently introduced to the consumer market. Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly bush in western WA

Butterfly bushes should only be "drastically" pruned to within about 12" from the base, in early spring. You can judiciously prune errant branches, etc., throughout the growing season. Cuttings are easy to grow. Choose reasonably new (not the woody ones) stems about 6" or larger, removing the foliage except for the tip leaves. Rooting hormone helps, but is not necessary. Put the cutting in potting soil, sand, whatever, they are not picky. Enclose the cutting in a plastic bag. I test the cutting by tugging on the top of the stems, and if the stem seems resistant, it has roots. Harden them off from the baggy by opening the top for a few days, and then removing it entirely. So easy to do! Heavy fall or winter pruning is not advised - mine died one year after pruning it heavily in late fall. Now I leave all the dead stems over winter and prune it in early spring. Someone said that they successfully pruned theirs in late fall, but I wouldn't risk it. As Bob says, there are many new dwarf hybrids out there now. Another pretty one is Silver Anniversary. MissSherry has a beautiful Ellen's Blue that I covet...lol. I planted a Nanho purple one time, though, which is a dwarf, and it did not attract any butterflies at all in my garden. Others have said it has for them. The old standbys like Pink Delight, White Profusion, and the yellow flowering buddleias are good nectar sources for sure. Susan

Hi & welcome to Gardenweb. Agree with gardengal, it just needs a chance to settle in. The fact that it's still alive since Mother's Day makes me very confident that it will pull through. In general, BB's don't need much care once established. Just trim the dead flowers so new ones appear. Wait until spring, when new growth is starting to prune for shape and size. Fall pruning can be fatal to these short-lived shrubs. The pieces you trim can be stuck in the ground for more bushes. I try to start a couple new ones somewhere every year because you never know when your BB will just die. From what I've read over the years on here, the farther south you go, the less risk of mysterious death (which I think is usually attributable to being too wet in the cold when people have trouble with them) but having just 1 BB can be very disappointing if it happens to you.