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Great Design Plant: Joe Pye Weed
This unsung beauty tolerates wet soil, provides beautiful late summer blooms and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
Sometimes we disregard a great design plant because we're more used to seeing it along the highway than in a manicured garden, or because it has the word "weed" in its common name. Joe Pye Weed is one such plant. This native, often overlooked beauty grows up to 7 feet tall, adds showy purplish blooms in late summer to early fall and is quite easy to grow directly from seeds.
Its colors and textures create dramatic clusters and draw butterflies to the garden, and Joe Pye Weed thrives in those tricky places where water stands after a storm. So get to know Joe and decide if you'd like him to come over and hang out in your yard.
Its colors and textures create dramatic clusters and draw butterflies to the garden, and Joe Pye Weed thrives in those tricky places where water stands after a storm. So get to know Joe and decide if you'd like him to come over and hang out in your yard.
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Botanical name: Eupatorium purpureum
Common name: Joe Pye Weed (other, less common, common names include Queen of the Meadow and Snakeroot)
USDA zones: 5-10
Water requirement: Moist. Grows well along ponds, wetlands and streams. Soil should be damp.
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade
Mature size: The standard native plant can grow up to 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, but there are dwarf varieties available that only grow to about 4 feet high, such as Eupatorium purpureum 'Little Joe.'
Tolerances: Requires damp soil; can tolerate hot full sun
Seasonal interest: This native plant is a late bloomer, with large, showy purple-mauve-ish flowers. Its blooms will continue into early fall.
Best time to plant: Fall. Joe Pye Weed can be grown quite easily from seed, or from container plants, which are readily available in nurseries.
Fun fact: Joe Pye Weed is an herb that was mostly used medicinally for many years; some believed it inoculated people against poisons. One legend has it that the plant is named after a Native American named Joe Pye, who used it to cure typhus.
Common name: Joe Pye Weed (other, less common, common names include Queen of the Meadow and Snakeroot)
USDA zones: 5-10
Water requirement: Moist. Grows well along ponds, wetlands and streams. Soil should be damp.
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade
Mature size: The standard native plant can grow up to 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, but there are dwarf varieties available that only grow to about 4 feet high, such as Eupatorium purpureum 'Little Joe.'
Tolerances: Requires damp soil; can tolerate hot full sun
Seasonal interest: This native plant is a late bloomer, with large, showy purple-mauve-ish flowers. Its blooms will continue into early fall.
Best time to plant: Fall. Joe Pye Weed can be grown quite easily from seed, or from container plants, which are readily available in nurseries.
Fun fact: Joe Pye Weed is an herb that was mostly used medicinally for many years; some believed it inoculated people against poisons. One legend has it that the plant is named after a Native American named Joe Pye, who used it to cure typhus.
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| Distinguishing traits: Joe Pye Weed (seen here amid purple coneflower) has a wonderful natural look; it is a native plant we often see at the end of wetlands or along drainage ditches on the side of the highway. The flowers form large clusters that have an overall domed shape. Joe Pye Weed attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, which will add even more life and color to your garden. |
by Milieu Design
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How to use it: Choreographing fall bloomers can be tricky. But when you plant clusters of Joe Pye Weed in the perennial mix, in border gardens and along wet areas, you'll be sure to get a burst of purple in the late summer or early fall.
The plant's soft colors coordinate with a wide range of foliage and blooms, whether it be the yellows of Black-eyed Susans or goldenrod, other shades of purple from fall-blooming asters and mums, or a gray-green background of blue spruce. You may also want to use it with other butterfly-attracting plants such as butterfly bush, coneflower or lantana.
The plant's soft colors coordinate with a wide range of foliage and blooms, whether it be the yellows of Black-eyed Susans or goldenrod, other shades of purple from fall-blooming asters and mums, or a gray-green background of blue spruce. You may also want to use it with other butterfly-attracting plants such as butterfly bush, coneflower or lantana.
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by Liquidscapes
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| Planting notes: There are several easy ways to plant Joe Pye Weed.
Keep the soil damp, especially for the month after planting. You may divide Joe Pye Weed every two years. Cut the plants back to about 6 inches in the spring. To make your plants shorter and fuller, pinch them back in the early summer. See more guides to great design plants |
Comments
Liquidscapes Hey Becky, I'll attach a pic of those same JPW today on my property! Great plant! 
10 months ago · Like
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Liquidscapes Another great plant is Vitex! 
10 months ago · Like
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Jay Sifford Garden Design Great article. I LOVE Joe Pye weed. I use it a lot. Thanks.
10 months ago · Like
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Lynne Barton Bier - Home on the Range Interiors Very informative and interesting - and I love the humor you inject into your articles! I think I would like to "have Joe come over and hang out in my yard,". After your great endorsement, who could resist him???
10 months ago · Like
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SPACIFY INC, thats brilliant article! just absolutely love ideas!
10 months ago · Like
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olldbobbi I have these in a planter in my backyard, but I didn't know what they were called as the tag from the nursery was missing. Thanks, Becky!
10 months ago · Like
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Judy JPW grows wild and beautiful up in the mountains of NC
10 months ago · Like
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bexndex so wierd...I went for a walk with my son last night & said i wonder what that is? Now I know!
10 months ago · Like
Cheryl Daugvila Thanks for letting me know what that fabulous wild flower is growing in my beds!
9 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Aug. 5, 2012.
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