Butterfly weed

do you mean Asclepias tuberosa as shown by

if so, we are also in zone 5 and i leave most of ours alone. some in the more formal gardens get trimmed back after they die back naturally in the fall.

if you don't want volunteer plants harvest the pods before they split open very far. it is actually easier to harvest the seeds if you pick the pods right when they start splitting as then you can hold all the silk and brush the seeds off.

songbird

Thanks songbird....yes, that seems to be the one....I'll leave it alone, and watch it next spring...thanks for the advice.

I would wait until spring, because butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) can be a wee bit late in emerging, compared to other perennials, so it's good to have a few old stems to mark its location. Plus, I like to let this native go to seed and spread the bounty.