Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
Joe Pye Weed is a native perennial that grows readily in moist areas and forms clumps of tall sturdy plants that can grow up to six feet tall. In August the flowers start to open, the clumps become a mass of color, and the sweet fragrance of the flowers becomes a great attraction for bees and butterflies. We have a small meadow that left unmowed would be almost covered with Joe Pye Weed. We keep the center area mowed, but we allow the Joe Pye Weed free reign in the areas bordering all three sides of the meadow, and the dense clumps along the border make a good fence. From our experience, Joe Pye Weed will grow almost anywhere, but it thrives in sun and a moist, rich soil. The plant is said to be named after a Native American named Joe Pye, who used the herb as a cure for typhus.
Written by Shirley | Filed Under Enjoying Nature, Old-Fashioned Perennials, Plants in my Gardens, Voluntary Simplicity, Wildflowers
Comments
Comment by Vera:
You have joe pyeweed growing wild! I just saw this in a catalog for $17.00 a plant!
Comment by Laticia:
Very pretty. You have such lovely plants and gardens.
Comment by Joanne:
Does joe pye-weed grow in other colors too, or just the pink? We have something that looks like your pictures but the flower is almost white.
Comment by Shirley:
Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Seventeen dollars a plant? Wow! As to colors, we also have some joe pye weed that is almost white, but the pink is more common here.
Comment by JOHN:
Do you have to cut Joe Pye weed to the ground to prepare it for winter?
Comment by Shirley:
John, here it doesn’t seem to matter. Each fall we do cut down most of the joe pye weed that is growing along the perimeter of our meadow, but that is mostly just to “clean up” in preparation for spring. The clumps of joe pye weed growing along the roadsides never get cut, and they come back every year just as enthusiastically as the plants we cut.
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