Of all the native plants in the Alumni House Garden, perhaps the one with the most intriguing history is Joe-Pye Weed–a plant that can be perceived simultaneously as a weed, medicinal herb, wildflower, butterfly plant, food source, and attractive ornamental.
•Its common names include quillwort, purple boneset, thoroughwort, skunk-weed, marsh milkweed, trumpet-weed, hempweed, queen of the meadows, gravel-root, Indian-gravel, and kidney root. But it is now known primarily by the name Joe-Pye Weed. The name goes back over 200 years and may derive from an Indian word “Jopi.” There is a long and unsubstantiated tradition that Joe Pye was an Algonquin herbalist in Massachusetts Bay Colony area. He used the plant’s roots to concoct brews that would cure fevers, induce sweating for colonists suffering from typhus, “set shaking bones to rest in ague-rent bodies,” and provide relief for such problems as rheumatism, gout, respiratory disorders, and impotence.
• In his Appalachian Wildflowers (University of Georgia Press), T. E. Hemmerly states that Native Americans used Joe-Pye Weed to treat urinary tract ailments, including kidney stones. The common name “gravel root” derives from the reputed medicinal power of the plant’s astringent rhizomes to dissolve and remove kidney stones (i.e., “gravel”). According to John Eastman’s handbook on swamp and bog plants, the Reverend Manasseh Cutler reported in 1785 that “an infusion of the plant ‘vomits and purges smartly’. . . . Forest Potawatomi, among other tribes, regarded the flowers as good-luck charms, especially effective for winning at gambling.” The flowers and seeds have also been used in producing pink or red dye for textiles.
• In 2005 the plant’s genus name was officially changed to Eutrochium, but it is still often identified by its earlier name–Eupatorium. The older name refers to King Mithradates IV Eupator of Parthia (120-63 BCE), by tradition the individual responsible for discovering the plant’s medicinal properties. According to some sources, he consumed small amounts of Eupatorium and other poisonous plants in order to develop an immunity to poisons. The genus name Eutrochium is now used to identify a genus of North American herbaceous flowering plants in the sunflower family. The name “Eutrochium” derives from Greek eu-, meaning well or truly--and trocho--meaning wheel-like, alluding to the plant’s whorled leaves. Plants with whorled leaves and purple flower heads that had been in the Eupatorium genus were moved to Eutrochium and the genus Eupatorium now refers to over 40 species of white-flowered plants with opposite leaves from the temperate Northern hemisphere. Both are classified in the subtribe Eupatoriinae.
• The Joe-Pye weeds include the following species and variations:
Eutrochium dubium – Coastal Plain Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium fistulosum -- Hollow Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum --Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum var. bruneri
Eutrochium maculatum var. foliosum
Eutrochium maculatum var. maculatum
Eutrochium purpureum--Sweet Joe-Pye Weed, Green-Stemmed Joe-Pye Weed, Queen of
the Meadow, Gravel Root, Kidney Root, Purple Boneset
Eutrochium purpureum var. holzingeri
Eutrochium purpureum var. purpureum
Eutrochium steelei
Many Joe-Pye weed plants now sold in nurseries are probably E. maculatum. They have more foliage and larger flower heads than their wild counterparts.
• Historical Notes on Joe-Pye Weed copied from the Thomas Jefferson Center website: “This handsome North American member of the Aster family occurs naturally in low moist ground, moist wooded slopes, savannahs, and along streams from New Hampshire to Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, south to Florida and Georgia. It was used in the garden as a large accent in the perennial border. The species was introduced to Europe by 1640 and listed in Philadelphia nurseryman John Bartram's catalogue in 1793. Also known as Gravel Root, Purple Boneset, and Hempweed, the North American Indians used it as a diaphoretic to induce perspiration and break a fever and early settlers quickly adopted this practice. Joe-pye has large leaves in whorls around the stem and its late-season blooms attract swallowtail butterflies.”
•Description of Sweet Joe-Pye Weed on a University of Illinois website: perennial, 3-7' tall, usually unbranched; 3 or more leaves in whorl along stems; leaves up to 6" long, broadly lanceolate or ovate and crenate-serrated along margins; leaves are green and hairless on upper surface; lower surface is paler; some foliage may be vanilla-scented.
• Description of flower, compliments of the University of Illinois: stems terminate in panicles of compound flowers bunched together; some dome-shaped, some flat-topped. Compound flowers consist of multiple disk florets and overlapping bracts at base. Corolla is whitish or purplish pink, tubular in shape, with 5 tiny teeth along upper rim. “A divided white style is strongly exerted from each disk floret. The floral bracts are pale pink and oblong. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall and lasts about a month. Each floret is replaced by a bullet-shaped achene with a small tuft of hair. These achenes are dispersed by the wind. The root system is shallow and fibrous.”
• Entry describing Eutrochium purpureum on the Missouri Botanical Garden website–a marvelous resource for Zone 5 Midwest gardeners:
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: Joe Pye weed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Eastern and northern United States
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 5.00 to 7.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Description: Mauve pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Water Plant, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Wet Soil
Easily grown in average, medium moisture soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, fertile, humusy soils which do not dry out. Cut plants to the ground in late winter. Best propagated by stem cuttings. This species generally grows better in open woodland areas than E. maculatum which generally likes moister soils.
Eutrochium purpureum, commonly called Joe Pye weed, is a tall Missouri native perennial that occurs in low moist ground, wooded slopes, wet meadows and thickets and stream margins throughout the State. . . . It is an erect, clump-forming perennial which typically grows 4-7’ tall and features coarsely-serrated, lance-shaped, dark green leaves (to 12” long) in whorls of 3-4 on sturdy green stems with purplish leaf nodes. Tiny, vanilla-scented, dull pinkish-purple flowers in large, terminal, domed, compound inflorescences bloom in mid-summer to early fall. Each flower cluster typically has 5-7 florets. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Flowers give way to attractive seed heads which persist well into winter. . . .
No serious insect or disease problems. Leaves may scorch if soils are allowed to dry out. Powdery mildew and rust may occur.
Many people perceive Joe Pye weed to be nothing more than a roadside weed and have never seriously considered its outstanding ornamental attributes. It is a substantial plant which needs space, but when planted in groups or massed can provide spectacular flowering and architectural height. Border rears, cottage gardens, meadows, native plant gardens, wild/naturalized areas or water margins.
• Propagation: Joe-Pye weeds can be grown from seeds, but they require stratification at temperatures under 40F. When planting, do not cover the seeds with soil because they require light for germination, typically in 2-3 weeks. A more reliable propagation procedure is to take root cutting in the spring or to dig up and divide root clumps (the method we have used for re-positioning Joe-Pye weeds in the Alum House Garden). The one exception is the purchase of a dwarf variety, E. maculatum (Gateway), planted in the spring of 2015 at a corner of the “G” bed. The Gateway should eventually reach a maximum of four feet and with large flower heads–though so far it has not yet reached two feet and its flower heads have developed quite late in the fall. It should be hardy to temperatures as low as -30F.
• The first time I encountered and consciously identified the plant as a Joe-Pye Weed was on a canoe trip on the Range River, several miles north of Coe’s Wilderness Field Station. At the bottom of a small waterfall was a marsh with a patch of Joe-Pye-Weeds, their pinkish purple blooms rising above the grasses and sedges. Earlier on that same day, we had encountered a rocky portage with hundreds of blooming orange and yellow jewel weeds (Impatiens capensis). For the next ten years, I looked forward to that final day of our trips exiting the Boundary Waters, always greeted by these two beds of blooming “weeds.”
• Although the native Joe-Pye Weed is known as a disciple of the sun and wet shores, the “weed” has thrived in all of the Alum House Garden beds, from ones in full sun to a spot that only receives direct sunlight early in the morning. The plant is not invasive but it does produce a dense mound of tough roots, making it virtually impervious to any competition. The flowers have a light vanilla fragrance that becomes more intense when crushed. There’s little maintenance involved with Joe-Pye weed care and once established they appear impervious to heat or drought. Most of the garden’s Joe-Pye are cut back to the ground after a hard freeze, but for “winter interest” we leave a couple of larger ones that hold their shape and don’t look too ragged. To reduce the terminal height of Joe-Pye weeds, they can be trimmed to 1-2 feet in early June. While the pruning does make them bushier, the bloom clusters may be smaller than on unpruned plants. If a smaller height is desired, it’s probably best to select a shorter cultivar.
• One attractive feature of these Eutrochium is how the flowers are in bloom from the middle of the summer into the fall. The individual flowers in this member of the composite family (which includes daisies, asters, and sunflowers) open in sequence, some blooms setting seed while others are still in the bud stage. The stalks usually remain standing through the winter, providing a welcome structural presence when so many other plants have been beaten down by the wind and snow. Because of its size, Joe-Pye needs room to grow, but it makes an excellent background plant, offering an attractive contrast to neighboring ornamental grasses, asters, rudbeckia, and goldenrod.
• The oldest description I have encountered is in my copy of Philip Miller’s The Gardener’s Dictionary (5th edition, published in 1741). Miller was Gardener to the “Worshipful Company of Apothecaries” at their Botanical Garden in Chelsea. Miller lists 14 species of Eupatorium, providing brief descriptions of each one. Miller states that King Eupate was the first to bring the plant into use because it is good for diseases of the liver. According to Miller, these plants will have a “perennial fibrose Root, the Leaves are placed opposite upon the Stalks, the Cup of the Flower is long, super, and scaly, the Flowers are collected into an Umbel upon the Tops of the Stalks, which consist of many long bisid [?] Threads.”
Miller notes that only one of the 14 species, Eupatorium Cannabinum (Common Hemp Agrimony) is native to England, often found in ditches and along rivers. It is in America that most of these species abound. According to Miller, “These Plants have little Beauty” and are only “preserved in curious Botanick Gardens.” What would soon be known as Eupatorium purpureum was in Miller’s Dictionary labeled Novae Angliae urticae fobis, floribus purpurescentivus, maculatecaula (New England Hemp-Agrimony, with Nettle Leaves, purplish Flowers, and spotted stalks). Miller was slow to accept the genus/species nomenclature system advocated by Linneas, and thus his dictionary often uses long, complicated names to identify a species. I should also point out that my copy of the dictionary is a rather crude photocopy with the pages significantly reduced in size, often making it difficult to be certain of Miller’s intended spelling.
• Here is William Robinson’s one-paragraph entry in The English Flower Garden (15th edition, 1933): “Eupatorium (Thorough-wort).–Coarse composite perennials, most of which are better suited for the wild gardens than for borders, though two or three kinds are worth a place for supplying cut flowers in autumn. The most suitable are E. ageratoides, altissimum, and aromaticum, which are 3 to 5 feet high and bear a profusion of white blossoms in dense flat heads, E. cannabinum (Hemp Agrimony), E. perfoliatum, and E. purpureum (Trumpet-weed), a fine object in the rougher parts of a garden, being 12 feet high, with stems terminated by huge clusters of purple flowers. All grow in ordinary soil.”
• In his Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (3 volume set, published in 1935), Liberty Hyde Bailey identified 26 species of Eupatorium. “Chiefly perennial herbs, a few species annual, many of the tropical ones shrubby or even arborescent; some of them hardy border plants, others grown in coolhouses as florists’ plants, and others in warmhouses for the attractive foliage. . . . At least 600 species, chiefly of Mex., the W. Indies, and Trop. S. Amer. Certain species, now botanically placed in Eupatorium, still appear in trade catalogues and seed-lists under the names Hebeclinium and Conoclinium. Others have been confused with Ageratum.” Bailey described E. purpureum (Joe-Pye Weed) as follows: “Lvs. whorled, commonly in 5's and 6's, oblong or lanceolate, taper-pointed, coarsely serrate; heads in large compound clusters, pale purple or flesh-colored, rarely almost white. N. Amer.–Common and variable. Tall, rank plant of low grounds (reaching 8-9 ft.), good for bold effects in border or against shrubbery. Var. maculatum. Of lower growth; lvs. commonly in 4's, ovate-oblong, roughish pubescent; heads in smaller clusters, more deeply colored.”
• According to a document listing the plants intended for the Alum House Garden, the plan was to plant Eupatorium purpureum; however, the Joe-Pye Weeds currently growing all appear to have hollow stems and are probably some version of E. fistulosum. Most of them have been re-positioned so they serve as anchors for the corners of several beds, including the three gate entrances, and many of them how reach over eight feet tall. Their blooms are very attractive to the garden’s butterfly population.
• In her article “Herb to Know: Joe-Pye Weed” (1996), Betsy Strauch provides the following information on distinguishing different Joe-Pye Weed species. She notes that these species are inclined to hybridize in nature, and it can be challenging even for professional botanists to correctly identify a particular plant.
--Spotted Joe-Pye weed (E. maculatum) has stout, speckled or purplish stems 2 to 6 feet tall. The sharp-toothed, lance-shaped leaves are in whorls of four to five. Purple to pale lavender flowers are borne in flat-topped clusters. The species is found in moist places, especially in limy soils, mainly in eastern North America but in the north as far west as British Columbia.
--Sweet Joe-Pye weed (E. purpureum), also called gravel-root or queen-of-the-meadow, may grow as tall as 12 feet. The stem is green except at the leaf nodes, where it is purple. Like those of spotted Joe-Pye weed, the leaves are sharply toothed but generally come in whorls of three or four. They emit a vanilla odor when bruised. Its pale pinkish or purplish flowers are held in rounded clusters. It is found in thickets and open woods in eastern North America.
--Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye weed (E. fistulosum—fistulosum means “hollow” in Latin) is very similar to sweet Joe-Pye weed. The stem is usually purplish throughout and has a distinct bloom like the surface of a blueberry. Its distinguishing feature, however, is its large central -cavity; sweet Joe-Pye weed usually has a solid stem or only a small cavity. The leaves of hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye weed are mostly in fours to sevens and are narrowly elliptic with more rounded teeth than the two preceding species. The flowers are a bright pink-purple. It is found in bottomlands and moist woods in eastern North America.
--Steele’s Joe-Pye weed (E. steelei) is much like sweet Joe-Pye weed, but its stems and leaves are hairier and -broader than those of the latter. It is found in wooded areas in the Appalachian Mountains.
-Three-nerved Joe-Pye weed (E. dubium—dubium is Latin for “doubtful”) is so called because its leaves have two large veins that arise near the base of the midvein. The leaves are ovate, thick, and somewhat bumpy, and they occur in threes or fours. The purple-speckled stems may grow to 3 1/2 feet tall. The flower head is convex and bears purple flowers. This species occurs in moist, acid soil near the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to South Carolina.
• A University of Illinois website recommends focusing on the central stem to determine the species of Joe-Pye Weed. The stem of Sweet Joe-Pye Weed is solid in cross-section and purple where the bases of leaf petioles occur, otherwise it is green and glabrous. The species Eutrochium maculatum (Spotted Joe-Pye Weed) has solid stems that are either purple-spotted and glabrous or solid purple throughout from dark-colored hairs, while Eutrochium fistulosum (Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye Weed) has hollow stems that are glabrous and glaucous. Sweet Joe-Pye Weed usually has only 3-4 leaves per whorl, while Spotted Joe-Pye Weed has 4-5 leaves per whorl and Hollow-Stemmed Joe-Pye Weed has 4-7 leaves per whorl.
• According to the “Edible Wild Food” website, Joe-Pye weed is an amazing wild edible plant
“The entire plant can be used including the root. The leaves and stems can be harvested in the summer before the flower buds open and can be dried and stored for later use. The roots are harvested in the autumn. Fresh flowers can be used to make an herbal tea.”
• Description of Joe-Pye's natural habit, according to a University of Illinois website. “Habitats include open woodlands, savannas, woodland borders, thickets, partially shaded seeps, and partially shaded riverbanks. This plant can survive in wooded areas that are somewhat degraded. However, populations have a tendency to decline when the shade of overhead canopy trees becomes too dense.”
• Joe-Pye Weeds in North America can be found in the following states and provinces:
USA: AZ , CO , CT , GA , IA , ID , IL , IN , KS , KY , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MT , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NY , OH , PA , RI , SD , TN , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WV , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC , SK
• In the late summer and fall, at the height of pollinator activity, the Joe-Pye weeds and asters in the Alum House Garden are the strongest magnets for the butterflies. Nectar-feeders attracted to a Joe-Pye include the following (though many of these would never be seen in the Alum House Garden): The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, Tawny-edged Skipper, Zebra Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Skippers (in the family Hesperiidae), Hummingbirds, Long-tongued Bees, and Wasps.
The caterpillars of various moths feed on leaves and other parts of Eutrochium spp., including Eupatorium Borer Moth, Common Plume Moth, Red Groundling, Three-Lined Flower Moth, Ruby Tiger Moth, and Common Pug.
• Joe-Pye cultivars recommended by Clemson University Extension
Species Cultivar Size Color
E. dubium ‘Baby Joe’ 2-3' H x 1-2' W Lavender to fuschia
‘Little Joe’ 2-4' H x 2-4’ W Pinkish-lavender flowers, July to September.
E. fistulosum ‘Early Riser’ 7’ H x 3’ W Lavender-pink flowers, June flowering
E. maculatum ‘Atropurpureum’ 7-9' H x 3' W Purple spotted/mottled stems, leaf petioles dark purple,
flowers purplish-pink
‘Gateway’ 4-5’ H x 2-3’ W Smoky-rose pink flowers from July to September
‘Red Dwarf’ 3’ H x 2’ W Purple-black stems, frilly lavender flowers beginning in July
E. purpureum ‘Little Red’ 4’ H x 2.5- 3’ W Dense clusters pinkish-wine-red flowers, midsummer
[Other cultivars on the market include ‘Alba’, ‘Bartered Bride’, and ‘Future Music’ (all E. fistulosum cultivars with pure white flowers) and ‘Selection’ (a compact version of E. fistulosum with mauve flowers). ]
In addition to books identified in the 22 Observations, the following websites were consulted:
• Gardening Know How: www.gardeningknowhow.com
• Bulb-o-licious Garden by Nikki Phipps: www.lulu.com/shop/nikki-phipps/the-bulb-o-licious-garden. .
• Betsy Strauch, “Herb to Know: Joe-Pye Weed”: www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/an-herb-to-know-joe-pye-weed
• Brenda Hyde, Harvestmoongazette.blogspot.com.
“Joe Pye Weed Stands Tall in the Garden” by Linda Naeve, Extension Coordinator, Reiman Gardens: www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2003/aug03/aug0308.html
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: www.wildflower.org/
• Helen Hamilton: wildflowersofvirginia.com
• Flora of North America: floranorthamerica.org/
• University of Florida Extension Service: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_native_plants
• University of Illinois Gardener’s Corner: extension.illinois.edu/gardenerscorner/issue_02/spring_04_06.cfm
• Sarah A. White and Amy Scaroni (Clemson University), “Large flowered Joe-Pye weed in the garden”: www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/water/resources_stormwater/rain-garden-plants-joe-pye-weed.html
• Missouri Botanical Garden: www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder
•Its common names include quillwort, purple boneset, thoroughwort, skunk-weed, marsh milkweed, trumpet-weed, hempweed, queen of the meadows, gravel-root, Indian-gravel, and kidney root. But it is now known primarily by the name Joe-Pye Weed. The name goes back over 200 years and may derive from an Indian word “Jopi.” There is a long and unsubstantiated tradition that Joe Pye was an Algonquin herbalist in Massachusetts Bay Colony area. He used the plant’s roots to concoct brews that would cure fevers, induce sweating for colonists suffering from typhus, “set shaking bones to rest in ague-rent bodies,” and provide relief for such problems as rheumatism, gout, respiratory disorders, and impotence.
• In his Appalachian Wildflowers (University of Georgia Press), T. E. Hemmerly states that Native Americans used Joe-Pye Weed to treat urinary tract ailments, including kidney stones. The common name “gravel root” derives from the reputed medicinal power of the plant’s astringent rhizomes to dissolve and remove kidney stones (i.e., “gravel”). According to John Eastman’s handbook on swamp and bog plants, the Reverend Manasseh Cutler reported in 1785 that “an infusion of the plant ‘vomits and purges smartly’. . . . Forest Potawatomi, among other tribes, regarded the flowers as good-luck charms, especially effective for winning at gambling.” The flowers and seeds have also been used in producing pink or red dye for textiles.
• In 2005 the plant’s genus name was officially changed to Eutrochium, but it is still often identified by its earlier name–Eupatorium. The older name refers to King Mithradates IV Eupator of Parthia (120-63 BCE), by tradition the individual responsible for discovering the plant’s medicinal properties. According to some sources, he consumed small amounts of Eupatorium and other poisonous plants in order to develop an immunity to poisons. The genus name Eutrochium is now used to identify a genus of North American herbaceous flowering plants in the sunflower family. The name “Eutrochium” derives from Greek eu-, meaning well or truly--and trocho--meaning wheel-like, alluding to the plant’s whorled leaves. Plants with whorled leaves and purple flower heads that had been in the Eupatorium genus were moved to Eutrochium and the genus Eupatorium now refers to over 40 species of white-flowered plants with opposite leaves from the temperate Northern hemisphere. Both are classified in the subtribe Eupatoriinae.
• The Joe-Pye weeds include the following species and variations:
Eutrochium dubium – Coastal Plain Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium fistulosum -- Hollow Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum --Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum var. bruneri
Eutrochium maculatum var. foliosum
Eutrochium maculatum var. maculatum
Eutrochium purpureum--Sweet Joe-Pye Weed, Green-Stemmed Joe-Pye Weed, Queen of
the Meadow, Gravel Root, Kidney Root, Purple Boneset
Eutrochium purpureum var. holzingeri
Eutrochium purpureum var. purpureum
Eutrochium steelei
Many Joe-Pye weed plants now sold in nurseries are probably E. maculatum. They have more foliage and larger flower heads than their wild counterparts.
• Historical Notes on Joe-Pye Weed copied from the Thomas Jefferson Center website: “This handsome North American member of the Aster family occurs naturally in low moist ground, moist wooded slopes, savannahs, and along streams from New Hampshire to Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, south to Florida and Georgia. It was used in the garden as a large accent in the perennial border. The species was introduced to Europe by 1640 and listed in Philadelphia nurseryman John Bartram's catalogue in 1793. Also known as Gravel Root, Purple Boneset, and Hempweed, the North American Indians used it as a diaphoretic to induce perspiration and break a fever and early settlers quickly adopted this practice. Joe-pye has large leaves in whorls around the stem and its late-season blooms attract swallowtail butterflies.”
•Description of Sweet Joe-Pye Weed on a University of Illinois website: perennial, 3-7' tall, usually unbranched; 3 or more leaves in whorl along stems; leaves up to 6" long, broadly lanceolate or ovate and crenate-serrated along margins; leaves are green and hairless on upper surface; lower surface is paler; some foliage may be vanilla-scented.
• Description of flower, compliments of the University of Illinois: stems terminate in panicles of compound flowers bunched together; some dome-shaped, some flat-topped. Compound flowers consist of multiple disk florets and overlapping bracts at base. Corolla is whitish or purplish pink, tubular in shape, with 5 tiny teeth along upper rim. “A divided white style is strongly exerted from each disk floret. The floral bracts are pale pink and oblong. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall and lasts about a month. Each floret is replaced by a bullet-shaped achene with a small tuft of hair. These achenes are dispersed by the wind. The root system is shallow and fibrous.”
• Entry describing Eutrochium purpureum on the Missouri Botanical Garden website–a marvelous resource for Zone 5 Midwest gardeners:
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: Joe Pye weed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Eastern and northern United States
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 5.00 to 7.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Description: Mauve pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Water Plant, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Wet Soil
Easily grown in average, medium moisture soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, fertile, humusy soils which do not dry out. Cut plants to the ground in late winter. Best propagated by stem cuttings. This species generally grows better in open woodland areas than E. maculatum which generally likes moister soils.
Eutrochium purpureum, commonly called Joe Pye weed, is a tall Missouri native perennial that occurs in low moist ground, wooded slopes, wet meadows and thickets and stream margins throughout the State. . . . It is an erect, clump-forming perennial which typically grows 4-7’ tall and features coarsely-serrated, lance-shaped, dark green leaves (to 12” long) in whorls of 3-4 on sturdy green stems with purplish leaf nodes. Tiny, vanilla-scented, dull pinkish-purple flowers in large, terminal, domed, compound inflorescences bloom in mid-summer to early fall. Each flower cluster typically has 5-7 florets. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Flowers give way to attractive seed heads which persist well into winter. . . .
No serious insect or disease problems. Leaves may scorch if soils are allowed to dry out. Powdery mildew and rust may occur.
Many people perceive Joe Pye weed to be nothing more than a roadside weed and have never seriously considered its outstanding ornamental attributes. It is a substantial plant which needs space, but when planted in groups or massed can provide spectacular flowering and architectural height. Border rears, cottage gardens, meadows, native plant gardens, wild/naturalized areas or water margins.
• Propagation: Joe-Pye weeds can be grown from seeds, but they require stratification at temperatures under 40F. When planting, do not cover the seeds with soil because they require light for germination, typically in 2-3 weeks. A more reliable propagation procedure is to take root cutting in the spring or to dig up and divide root clumps (the method we have used for re-positioning Joe-Pye weeds in the Alum House Garden). The one exception is the purchase of a dwarf variety, E. maculatum (Gateway), planted in the spring of 2015 at a corner of the “G” bed. The Gateway should eventually reach a maximum of four feet and with large flower heads–though so far it has not yet reached two feet and its flower heads have developed quite late in the fall. It should be hardy to temperatures as low as -30F.
• The first time I encountered and consciously identified the plant as a Joe-Pye Weed was on a canoe trip on the Range River, several miles north of Coe’s Wilderness Field Station. At the bottom of a small waterfall was a marsh with a patch of Joe-Pye-Weeds, their pinkish purple blooms rising above the grasses and sedges. Earlier on that same day, we had encountered a rocky portage with hundreds of blooming orange and yellow jewel weeds (Impatiens capensis). For the next ten years, I looked forward to that final day of our trips exiting the Boundary Waters, always greeted by these two beds of blooming “weeds.”
• Although the native Joe-Pye Weed is known as a disciple of the sun and wet shores, the “weed” has thrived in all of the Alum House Garden beds, from ones in full sun to a spot that only receives direct sunlight early in the morning. The plant is not invasive but it does produce a dense mound of tough roots, making it virtually impervious to any competition. The flowers have a light vanilla fragrance that becomes more intense when crushed. There’s little maintenance involved with Joe-Pye weed care and once established they appear impervious to heat or drought. Most of the garden’s Joe-Pye are cut back to the ground after a hard freeze, but for “winter interest” we leave a couple of larger ones that hold their shape and don’t look too ragged. To reduce the terminal height of Joe-Pye weeds, they can be trimmed to 1-2 feet in early June. While the pruning does make them bushier, the bloom clusters may be smaller than on unpruned plants. If a smaller height is desired, it’s probably best to select a shorter cultivar.
• One attractive feature of these Eutrochium is how the flowers are in bloom from the middle of the summer into the fall. The individual flowers in this member of the composite family (which includes daisies, asters, and sunflowers) open in sequence, some blooms setting seed while others are still in the bud stage. The stalks usually remain standing through the winter, providing a welcome structural presence when so many other plants have been beaten down by the wind and snow. Because of its size, Joe-Pye needs room to grow, but it makes an excellent background plant, offering an attractive contrast to neighboring ornamental grasses, asters, rudbeckia, and goldenrod.
• The oldest description I have encountered is in my copy of Philip Miller’s The Gardener’s Dictionary (5th edition, published in 1741). Miller was Gardener to the “Worshipful Company of Apothecaries” at their Botanical Garden in Chelsea. Miller lists 14 species of Eupatorium, providing brief descriptions of each one. Miller states that King Eupate was the first to bring the plant into use because it is good for diseases of the liver. According to Miller, these plants will have a “perennial fibrose Root, the Leaves are placed opposite upon the Stalks, the Cup of the Flower is long, super, and scaly, the Flowers are collected into an Umbel upon the Tops of the Stalks, which consist of many long bisid [?] Threads.”
Miller notes that only one of the 14 species, Eupatorium Cannabinum (Common Hemp Agrimony) is native to England, often found in ditches and along rivers. It is in America that most of these species abound. According to Miller, “These Plants have little Beauty” and are only “preserved in curious Botanick Gardens.” What would soon be known as Eupatorium purpureum was in Miller’s Dictionary labeled Novae Angliae urticae fobis, floribus purpurescentivus, maculatecaula (New England Hemp-Agrimony, with Nettle Leaves, purplish Flowers, and spotted stalks). Miller was slow to accept the genus/species nomenclature system advocated by Linneas, and thus his dictionary often uses long, complicated names to identify a species. I should also point out that my copy of the dictionary is a rather crude photocopy with the pages significantly reduced in size, often making it difficult to be certain of Miller’s intended spelling.
• Here is William Robinson’s one-paragraph entry in The English Flower Garden (15th edition, 1933): “Eupatorium (Thorough-wort).–Coarse composite perennials, most of which are better suited for the wild gardens than for borders, though two or three kinds are worth a place for supplying cut flowers in autumn. The most suitable are E. ageratoides, altissimum, and aromaticum, which are 3 to 5 feet high and bear a profusion of white blossoms in dense flat heads, E. cannabinum (Hemp Agrimony), E. perfoliatum, and E. purpureum (Trumpet-weed), a fine object in the rougher parts of a garden, being 12 feet high, with stems terminated by huge clusters of purple flowers. All grow in ordinary soil.”
• In his Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (3 volume set, published in 1935), Liberty Hyde Bailey identified 26 species of Eupatorium. “Chiefly perennial herbs, a few species annual, many of the tropical ones shrubby or even arborescent; some of them hardy border plants, others grown in coolhouses as florists’ plants, and others in warmhouses for the attractive foliage. . . . At least 600 species, chiefly of Mex., the W. Indies, and Trop. S. Amer. Certain species, now botanically placed in Eupatorium, still appear in trade catalogues and seed-lists under the names Hebeclinium and Conoclinium. Others have been confused with Ageratum.” Bailey described E. purpureum (Joe-Pye Weed) as follows: “Lvs. whorled, commonly in 5's and 6's, oblong or lanceolate, taper-pointed, coarsely serrate; heads in large compound clusters, pale purple or flesh-colored, rarely almost white. N. Amer.–Common and variable. Tall, rank plant of low grounds (reaching 8-9 ft.), good for bold effects in border or against shrubbery. Var. maculatum. Of lower growth; lvs. commonly in 4's, ovate-oblong, roughish pubescent; heads in smaller clusters, more deeply colored.”
• According to a document listing the plants intended for the Alum House Garden, the plan was to plant Eupatorium purpureum; however, the Joe-Pye Weeds currently growing all appear to have hollow stems and are probably some version of E. fistulosum. Most of them have been re-positioned so they serve as anchors for the corners of several beds, including the three gate entrances, and many of them how reach over eight feet tall. Their blooms are very attractive to the garden’s butterfly population.
• In her article “Herb to Know: Joe-Pye Weed” (1996), Betsy Strauch provides the following information on distinguishing different Joe-Pye Weed species. She notes that these species are inclined to hybridize in nature, and it can be challenging even for professional botanists to correctly identify a particular plant.
--Spotted Joe-Pye weed (E. maculatum) has stout, speckled or purplish stems 2 to 6 feet tall. The sharp-toothed, lance-shaped leaves are in whorls of four to five. Purple to pale lavender flowers are borne in flat-topped clusters. The species is found in moist places, especially in limy soils, mainly in eastern North America but in the north as far west as British Columbia.
--Sweet Joe-Pye weed (E. purpureum), also called gravel-root or queen-of-the-meadow, may grow as tall as 12 feet. The stem is green except at the leaf nodes, where it is purple. Like those of spotted Joe-Pye weed, the leaves are sharply toothed but generally come in whorls of three or four. They emit a vanilla odor when bruised. Its pale pinkish or purplish flowers are held in rounded clusters. It is found in thickets and open woods in eastern North America.
--Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye weed (E. fistulosum—fistulosum means “hollow” in Latin) is very similar to sweet Joe-Pye weed. The stem is usually purplish throughout and has a distinct bloom like the surface of a blueberry. Its distinguishing feature, however, is its large central -cavity; sweet Joe-Pye weed usually has a solid stem or only a small cavity. The leaves of hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye weed are mostly in fours to sevens and are narrowly elliptic with more rounded teeth than the two preceding species. The flowers are a bright pink-purple. It is found in bottomlands and moist woods in eastern North America.
--Steele’s Joe-Pye weed (E. steelei) is much like sweet Joe-Pye weed, but its stems and leaves are hairier and -broader than those of the latter. It is found in wooded areas in the Appalachian Mountains.
-Three-nerved Joe-Pye weed (E. dubium—dubium is Latin for “doubtful”) is so called because its leaves have two large veins that arise near the base of the midvein. The leaves are ovate, thick, and somewhat bumpy, and they occur in threes or fours. The purple-speckled stems may grow to 3 1/2 feet tall. The flower head is convex and bears purple flowers. This species occurs in moist, acid soil near the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to South Carolina.
• A University of Illinois website recommends focusing on the central stem to determine the species of Joe-Pye Weed. The stem of Sweet Joe-Pye Weed is solid in cross-section and purple where the bases of leaf petioles occur, otherwise it is green and glabrous. The species Eutrochium maculatum (Spotted Joe-Pye Weed) has solid stems that are either purple-spotted and glabrous or solid purple throughout from dark-colored hairs, while Eutrochium fistulosum (Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye Weed) has hollow stems that are glabrous and glaucous. Sweet Joe-Pye Weed usually has only 3-4 leaves per whorl, while Spotted Joe-Pye Weed has 4-5 leaves per whorl and Hollow-Stemmed Joe-Pye Weed has 4-7 leaves per whorl.
• According to the “Edible Wild Food” website, Joe-Pye weed is an amazing wild edible plant
“The entire plant can be used including the root. The leaves and stems can be harvested in the summer before the flower buds open and can be dried and stored for later use. The roots are harvested in the autumn. Fresh flowers can be used to make an herbal tea.”
• Description of Joe-Pye's natural habit, according to a University of Illinois website. “Habitats include open woodlands, savannas, woodland borders, thickets, partially shaded seeps, and partially shaded riverbanks. This plant can survive in wooded areas that are somewhat degraded. However, populations have a tendency to decline when the shade of overhead canopy trees becomes too dense.”
• Joe-Pye Weeds in North America can be found in the following states and provinces:
USA: AZ , CO , CT , GA , IA , ID , IL , IN , KS , KY , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MT , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NY , OH , PA , RI , SD , TN , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WV , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC , SK
• In the late summer and fall, at the height of pollinator activity, the Joe-Pye weeds and asters in the Alum House Garden are the strongest magnets for the butterflies. Nectar-feeders attracted to a Joe-Pye include the following (though many of these would never be seen in the Alum House Garden): The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, Tawny-edged Skipper, Zebra Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Skippers (in the family Hesperiidae), Hummingbirds, Long-tongued Bees, and Wasps.
The caterpillars of various moths feed on leaves and other parts of Eutrochium spp., including Eupatorium Borer Moth, Common Plume Moth, Red Groundling, Three-Lined Flower Moth, Ruby Tiger Moth, and Common Pug.
• Joe-Pye cultivars recommended by Clemson University Extension
Species Cultivar Size Color
E. dubium ‘Baby Joe’ 2-3' H x 1-2' W Lavender to fuschia
‘Little Joe’ 2-4' H x 2-4’ W Pinkish-lavender flowers, July to September.
E. fistulosum ‘Early Riser’ 7’ H x 3’ W Lavender-pink flowers, June flowering
E. maculatum ‘Atropurpureum’ 7-9' H x 3' W Purple spotted/mottled stems, leaf petioles dark purple,
flowers purplish-pink
‘Gateway’ 4-5’ H x 2-3’ W Smoky-rose pink flowers from July to September
‘Red Dwarf’ 3’ H x 2’ W Purple-black stems, frilly lavender flowers beginning in July
E. purpureum ‘Little Red’ 4’ H x 2.5- 3’ W Dense clusters pinkish-wine-red flowers, midsummer
[Other cultivars on the market include ‘Alba’, ‘Bartered Bride’, and ‘Future Music’ (all E. fistulosum cultivars with pure white flowers) and ‘Selection’ (a compact version of E. fistulosum with mauve flowers). ]
In addition to books identified in the 22 Observations, the following websites were consulted:
• Gardening Know How: www.gardeningknowhow.com
• Bulb-o-licious Garden by Nikki Phipps: www.lulu.com/shop/nikki-phipps/the-bulb-o-licious-garden. .
• Betsy Strauch, “Herb to Know: Joe-Pye Weed”: www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/an-herb-to-know-joe-pye-weed
• Brenda Hyde, Harvestmoongazette.blogspot.com.
“Joe Pye Weed Stands Tall in the Garden” by Linda Naeve, Extension Coordinator, Reiman Gardens: www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2003/aug03/aug0308.html
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: www.wildflower.org/
• Helen Hamilton: wildflowersofvirginia.com
• Flora of North America: floranorthamerica.org/
• University of Florida Extension Service: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_native_plants
• University of Illinois Gardener’s Corner: extension.illinois.edu/gardenerscorner/issue_02/spring_04_06.cfm
• Sarah A. White and Amy Scaroni (Clemson University), “Large flowered Joe-Pye weed in the garden”: www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/water/resources_stormwater/rain-garden-plants-joe-pye-weed.html
• Missouri Botanical Garden: www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder