"styxx374" expounded:

I live in Pennsylvania, zone 6. I bought a purple butterfly bush last May.
We cut it back in the fall, so right now it stands about 3-4 feet. It is
planted about 10-15 feet from our house on the east side in a 6"raised bed.
As of today, May 2, it still has not shown any buds. It is my understanding
that butterfly bushes are late in "waking up," but I am concerned that it
didn't make it through our cold winter.

For future reference, don't cut a butterfly bush back at all until
spring bud break. It encourages growth, and that growth dies back
even further during the cold of winter. Butterfly bushes are
marginally hardy for us in zone 6, they frequently die back to the
ground but resprout from the roots and grow rapidly.

Give yours another month before deciding it's dead.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
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