PerennialRain gardenDeer resistantPollinatorsNativeFragrant

Joe Pye Weed

Eutrochium purpureum

A tall native perennial with big domes of vanilla-scented, pinkish-purple flowers from midsummer into early fall, a magnet for butterflies and bees. Massed at the back of a border, in a meadow or by water it's spectacular, and deer tend to avoid it. Keep the soil moist; dry spells scorch the leaves.

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Joe Pye Weed: whole plant — Photo: Charles de Mille-Isles from Mille-Isles, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mature size: 6 × 3 ft; 1.8 × 0.9 m, tall × wide
Hardiness: Zones 4a–9b; USDA
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to moist
Blooms: Jul–Sep

Joe Pye Weed at its mature size

A mature Joe Pye Weed grows 5 to 7 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide.

Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.

Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden.

Through the year

What Joe Pye Weed looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.

Below ground · Nov–Apr

Dies back to the ground.

In leaf · May–Jun

Tall stems with whorls of large lance-shaped leaves, no flowers.

In flower · Jul–Sep

Huge domed heads of dusty mauve-pink flowers.

Fall · Oct

Domed heads dried to fluffy tan seed, stems purple-brown.

Photos

Joe Pye Weed: flowers — Flowers · Charles de Mille-Isles from Mille-Isles, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Joe Pye Weed: detail — Detail · Charles de Mille-Isles from Mille-Isles, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing Joe Pye Weed

Grows well in: The Northeast, the Southeast, and the Midwest.
Good for: Rain garden, deer resistant, pollinators, and fragrant
Leaves: Dies back in winter
Native to: Eastern and Central North America

Spacing

VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Joe Pye Weed, that’s about 3 ft apart, center to center.

Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.