Sweet Joe Pye weed
Eutrochium purpureum · Asteraceae
The woodland Joe Pye weed: pale mauve-pink domes, scented of vanilla, on green stems to head height in late summer. It tolerates drier soil and more shade than the others.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late July to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around sweet Joe Pye weed
The planner designed this bed around sweet Joe Pye weed when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why sweet Joe Pye weed stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sweet Joe Pye weed × 1, pink
- 2 Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' × 7, pink
- 3 Alpine aster × 8, purple
- 4 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 5 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 6 Schubert's allium × 4, pink
- 7 Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie' × 3, orange
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only flat plates. The others are open bowls, daisies, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to little bluestem (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late July to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With garden phlox 'David' and crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie' in early August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 47% of the planted ground. The bed is tied together by its repeats: two kinds come round again along it, creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' and alpine aster. Alpine aster is the plant there is most of: 8 of the 29.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sweet Joe Pye weed goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
Use it where 'Gateway' would be too dark or the soil too dry. Like all Joe Pye weeds it is a plant for big beds; in small ones choose 'Little Joe'.
- Height at the back of a large border
- Woodland edges
- Butterfly gardens
What to plant with sweet Joe Pye weed
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- New England aster: medium leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones.
- Garden phlox: in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (3½ ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about sweet Joe Pye weed
Does sweet Joe Pye weed need sun or shade?
Sweet Joe Pye weed grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does sweet Joe Pye weed grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sweet Joe Pye weed flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late July to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early August to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late July to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late July to early September |
| Zone 7 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 8 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 9 | Mid July to early September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should sweet Joe Pye weed be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sweet Joe Pye weed plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is sweet Joe Pye weed poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat sweet Joe Pye weed?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after sweet Joe Pye weed?
Sweet Joe Pye weed is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- New England aster: from early September to mid October, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Korean feather reed grass: from late August to mid October, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does sweet Joe Pye weed look like in winter?
Sweet Joe Pye weed dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is sweet Joe Pye weed good for bees and butterflies?
Sweet Joe Pye weed is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Eutrochium
- Hollow Joe-Pye weed Eutrochium fistulosum
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway' Eutrochium maculatum 'Gateway'
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' Eutrochium dubium 'Little Joe'
- Joe-Pye weed 'Baby Joe' Eutrochium dubium 'Baby Joe'
- Spotted Joe-Pye weed Eutrochium maculatum
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late July to early September; flat plates; pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Southeast Canada, North Central and Eastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.