I'm not sure what you were expecting them to look like---but that is pretty much what they do-----only bigger and fuller over time. They don't often have a great form but most people tolerate them for the blooms and fragrance that attract the butterflies and bees.

If you cut them now, you would be cutting much of the future bloom, though that could be done as long as it is not a severe pruning and is not very hot and dry.

You might wait until they start blooming and thin out a limb at a time so you can bring a few inside in a vase with any other flowers you might have blooming at the time.

I have tried to limb them up to make them look standard or tree like but it is a never ending battle to keep the new grow pinched back.

I have given up and just let them do their thing.I kind of clip out the dead stuff, thin out a few branches at the trunk and keep the tops at a reasonable height. The wind seems to catch them and knock them over if they get too tall.

You can definitely cut back butterfly bushes -- but this is the wrong time of year to do it!

In early spring, just when plants are starting to bud out, THEN cut back just as hard as you'd like. If you want to keep the bushes reasonably short, then you can cut them nearly to the ground. If you like them large, then don't cut so much.

Regina, I want those edgers!!!!! Where can I get some?

dig em out and plant Chaste Tree's.

Big_Orange_Vol, are you talking about the retaining wall material? It's a composite timber made of recycled plastic. The TV show provided it - not sure where you get it. It's apparently quite expensive, but it lasts a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. It's got a UV blocker in it so it won't get brittle.

Ok, I know exactly what it is now, thanks! I thought that it was a concrete lentil. I figured that they must weigh 150 lbs or better, Duh. I haven't seen it in that light of a color before.

I pruned mine back in late winter, they are now full of buds, I also have a fence behind them that I can tie them to, to try to upright them a little more