PlantFiles: Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum 'Gateway'

I have 2 areas of Joe Pye Weed, one species and the other 'Gateway' cultivar. I treat the areas like a shrub: high prairie winds here tend to knock down tall plants here and growing the plant in a bunch helps it stand up. If it spreads too much for you, just yank out some of the stems. If it shows up in other garden areas, pull it out. Propagate by seed.
Almost all native plants benefit from knowing their origin: JoePye Weed grows only in riparian areas in the prairie, which means it needs some additional water here in Nebraska especially during hot drought. Baby it too much and of course it becomes invasive. Tough Love is best.

I've been growing this plant for years, and really enjoy it. It does tend to wilt in the afternoon sun, but recovers nicely. I think the tall arching branches are very graceful and dramatic. Oftentimes by the end of the season they may need staking. (They can be cut by 1/3 early in the season for overall shorter plants.) The blooms last a really long time, gradually fading into attractive seed heads that I usually leave on through much of the winter. The root clumps seem to grow quickly, enabling just a few plants to make quite a statement after a couple of years.

This plant is doing very well in our garden... not a dramatic plant but an excellent background addition which attracts butterflies and adds a beautiful 'misty' look to the garden. Ours in planted in part sun/part shade (Toronto)

I have 2 eupatorium growing in a shady moist border here in zone 6b and I love them. This dark distant woodland edge of my property also has a spectacular ligularia (the Rocket), some bright green (Lime Rickey Heuchera) and gold foamy bells (Heucherella Strike It Rich Girl), chinese wild ginger, and a couple of who-knows-what-kind of little cypress. The narrow (3-6') border bed is flanked by a 25' holly and a mature hedge of forthysia. The Joe Pye Weed and Ligularia complement each other's bloom colors and add dramatic, bold vertical interest. The height of these plants does not reach it's full potential probably due to the low light, but 4-6' punctuaction above the varied colors and texture of the lower growing plants is ideal for this area.
One note of warning, if you have lawn cutters who like to "help" you out by cutting down anything that's not grass, please mark/identify this plant as off limits for the weed whacker.

We first planted this in our front bed where it would get full sun, but it kept wilting on us, so we've moved it to a more shady area and it is doing much better. This is our first year with the plant so I can't say if I like it or not yet.

I ran across this species of joe pye's weed while searching for the purpureum at several garden centers in Northern Virginia. They were half hidden under a table displaying other sun loving perennials. I needed a tall plant in a sunny border to tower over black eyed susans and ornamental grasses. I hope they fit the bill. I planted them several weeks ago and they seem to be adjusting nicely.