Joe Pye Weed’s pink-purple flowers bloom in large clusters, creating a lovely centerpiece for any garden.
As a master gardener, I’ve spent plenty of time growing these lovely flowers.
Despite its name, these plants aren’t weeds at all.
They’re native perennials and are adaptable to different climates and environments.
In this quick guide, I’ve included everything you need to know about caring for Joe Pye Weed, including creating the appropriate growing conditions for it to thrive.
What Is Joe Pye Weed?
Scientific Name: Eutrochium purpureum
Family: Asteraceae
Other Common Names: Purple Joe Pye Weed, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, Queen of the Meadow
Hardiness Zones: 4-9 USDA Hardiness Zones
Native Range: Southeast Canada and Central & Eastern United States
Eutrochium, commonly called Joe Pye Weed, is a native wildflower typically found within the contiguous United States region.
These perennials are late-blooming plants with pink-purple flowers that grow in a cluster or clump formation.
Their flowers sit on top of tall and thick stalks that can grow up to 5-7 feet tall.
I’ve found that Joe Pye Weed thrives in semi-shade and woodland areas as well as full sun areas.
The plant also prefers a damp, high humidity environment with lots of foliage.
Thankfully, this plant has shallow roots that won’t interfere with other new plants you might want to grow alongside it.
I recommend it if you need a native plant for your nursery.
In my experience, Joe Pye Weed has flowers that attract many butterflies like Monarchs and Swallowtails.
These can give your garden a more vibrant and complete look.
Accounting for Joe Pye Weed’s Aggressive Growth
I’ve discovered that Joe Pye Weed grows upright quickly and spreads to other areas pretty quickly.
There are ways to control this growth to shape the plant into something that fits into your garden.
Pruning the plant is a good practice to make sure it doesn’t grow too tall.
I recommend trimming it down to around 4-8 inches off the ground from late fall to early spring.
Alternatively, you can also trim the plant in half from June to early August.
This will encourage the plant to send out more stems, which can allow more flowers to bloom.
Remember to curb the growth of Joe Pye Weed to ensure it doesn’t spread outside of your garden.
Specific Varieties
Eutrochium maculatum:
A notable variety due to its resistance to powdery mildew.
It has purple-speckled stems with light to dark purple flowers.
Eutrochium steelei:
A native of the Appalachians with greenish-purple stems and pink-purple flowers.
It grows up to 6.5 feet tall.
Eutrochium “Little Joe”:
An introduced range of seed mixes made to combat powdery mildew similar to maculatum.
It has little to no difference from the native version except for its mildew resistance.
Eutrochium purpureum:
This variety has solid green stems and can grow up to 7 feet tall.
A unique feature is that tiny exotic mauve flowers appear during the midsummer months.
Helping Joe Pye Weed Thrive and Climb
You need to create ideal conditions to ensure that your Joe Pye Weed plants grow to their fullest potential.
This includes moisture and humidity levels, balancing light levels, the best type of soil, temperature resistance, supporting frames, and dealing with weed diseases.
Moisture for Maintenance
Joe Pye Weed thrives in fairly moist conditions, although I’ve found it’s quite resistant to droughts.
However, to achieve the best growth, keep the soil and environment moist but not soggy.
Balancing Light and Shade
After growing it, I can report that Joe Pye Weed thrives in both full sun and partial shade.
This is because the plant needs ample sun to grow but not too much that it will turn yellow.
Too much shade, especially in rainy months, will cause the plant to flop over and encourage diseases to spread to the plant.
Partial shade will allow the plant to take cover during the very bright summer months like early May through April while still giving it enough sunlight for its needs.
Best Soils for Joe Pye Weed
Well-drained soil is ideal for Joe Pye Weed because it allows the plant to be watered without fear of making the soil soggy or too moist.
While the ideal soil should be fairly rich and well-drained, I’ve discovered Joe Pye Weed can also live in clay soil and wet soil for minimum periods of time.
This plant is also adaptable to any pH level so you don’t need to worry about having a specific pH level in your soil.
Additionally, you won’t need fertilizer or compost since Joe Pye Weed will do well without it.
I only recommend adding fertilizer if your soil quality is really poor.
Cultivating Joe Pye Weed in Colder Climes
In my experience, cold weather is tricky for Joe Pye Weed because of frost.
It can generally survive both hot and cold temperatures but it will start dying as frost rolls in from the last day of September onwards.
Dormancy and Pruning
Joe Pye Weed dies back and becomes dormant when frost hits.
During this time you should prune the plant by about 4 to 8 inches for the best results.
If you wait too long, new growth can make it difficult to prune around.
Deadheading
With the other plants I’ve grown, deadheading their spent flowers can help reduce the number of seed heads that spread around the area.
However, Joe Pye Weed is a special case.
Instead of deadheading them, I recommend removing the plant stalks at the end of their growing season.
Creating Supportive Frames When Necessary
Supportive frames can help plants like Joe Pye Weed maintain their posture throughout their growth cycle.
You can either buy these frames online or create them yourself.
If you have older Joe Pye Weeds that are becoming too leggy, I suggest getting them vertical or tilted frames like A-frame trellises for support.
This will prevent them from bending too much.
Dealing with Weed Diseases
Diseases like burnt leaves, powdery mildew, rust, and overly leggy plants are far from ideal but they can all be prevented or treated.
Burnt Leaves
Burnt leaves come about during overly long drought periods.
Going too long without water and moisture can cause Joe Pye Weed to shrivel and scorch.
I recommend increasing the watering frequency for your Joe Pye Weeds during hot summer months.
Powdery Mildew
You may see powdery white residue on your plants which can stunt their growth.
To prevent this, spray fungicide on your plants or use cultivars that are resistant to mildew.
Rust
The rust fungus can cause brownish spots to appear on the leaves of Joe Pye Weed.
I advise fixing it by using fungicide and spraying it on the affected plant.
Overly Leggy Plants
Leggy or weak Joe Pye Weed will easily topple over in the wind.
To prevent this, make sure the plants get adequate sunlight and are not being watered too much.
Other Guides from Planet Natural:
Angelonia: Gorgeous Summertime Ornamentals
25 Best Climbing Plants for Your Fences, Trellis, or Pergola
Melissa Pino is a biologist, master gardener, and regular contributor for Planet Natural. Melissa’s work focuses on promoting environmentally-friendly practices, helping people create healthy gardens and finding ways to achieve overall health and wellness.
