Because of the start of a home addition in the early spring I am having to transplant many perennials and shrubs. Most everything is doing fairly well except my butterfly bush. I am watering it daily and watered the transplant hole well before moving it but it is wilting terribly and seems to be drying up and dying. Should I cut it back to the ground now even though it is a winter cut back?
The problem is you cut the roots while it was in leaf, something apt to make most deciduous shrubs wilt badly. Keep moist and rig up some shade - recent transplants with cut roots are basically cuttings, requiring similar treatment.
I wouldn't. Immediate solution to wilting is shade and moisture, later relief provided by replacement of lost roots. Intact top supports growth of roots.