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Joe-Pye Weed, Eupatorium purpureum, is an amazing plant that is an herb, a wildflower, a butterfly plant and an ornamental for the flower bed. It obtained its name after a Native American herbalist, named Joe-Pye, cured fevers using the Eupatorium plant. Though we tend to think of it as a wildflower in the U.S., it's long been an ornamental plant in England where cottage gardens are so popular. Joe-Pye is perky and full of blooms when many other plants are finished and it lasts until hard frost. Place it in the back of the border or give it a corner all its own in a sunny, fertile position. Joe-Pye does best when it's placed in a moist location, but it will adapt to a dryer location. If you enrich the soil with organic matter and keep it watered, it should do fine.
If you have a butterfly garden, then Joe-Pye is a must-have plant! The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, and the Tawny-edged Skipper are just some of butterflies known to love Joe-Pye. It's a perennial that can be divided every 2 years. The stalks are hollow and will fall over if not sheltered from the wind and it will look neater if it's staked early. Pinching back Joe-Pye plants in the early summer it will help them grow a little shorter and bushier. They bloom July through October or till frost.
Joe-Pye can be started from seed indoors 8-10 weeks prior to the last spring frost. Sow on seed starting mix, lightly covering so light can reach the seeds. Moisten the mix and place the pot or container in a plastic bag. Place the covered container in the refrigerator for 8-10 weeks, then remove it and set in a room where it's 68-70ºF. The seed should germinate in 3-7 days. You can also direct seed in any season into the soil if you are growing it as a wildflower. If you want to collect seeds from the plant, they will be very very thin, and tiny--at the base of the cluster of flowers. It transplants easily as well. I dug mine up this spring to move it farther back in the border and it came back beautifully. I dug deeply under and around it, then placed it at the same soil level in a new hole.
Joe-Pye is known by the common names Queen of the Meadow, gravel root, kidney root, mist-flower, snakeroot and purple boneset. There are quite a few varieties of Eupatorium to choose from. The smallest is a dwarf variety, E. maculatum (Gateway) that grows to about 4 foot tall, and has reddish stems, more blooms and larger flowerheads. It's very cold hardy, and will grow even in Zone 3. It can also be grown in large containers, as long as it watered regularly.
Other varieties are E. aromaticum; E. perfoliatum, E. rugosum, E. coelestinum, and E. purpureum. Some will grow to 10 foot tall! They range from darker purples, wine, lavender and white. The purple shades seem to attract butterflies better than the white. Be SURE to check when buying as to the height of the variety so you won't be surprised. Some varieties are more fragrant than others, and they have a vanilla-like fragrance. If you aren't growing it for butterflies, it also makes a lovely cut flower and it can be dried as well.
Joe-Pye will combine beautifully with butterfly bush (buddleia), Liatris, bee balm (Monarda), and anise hyssop. It really is unfortunate that this lovely plant was labeled with the word "weed" because it's nothing of the sort, and it is beneficial to our planet in so many ways.
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Author Bio Box: Brenda Hyde
 Brenda Hyde is editor of Old Fashioned Living, a freelance writer, cook, gardener and mom. Growing and using herbs has become one of her favorite things. Visit her blog http://grace-whimsy.blogspot.com for more gardening tips.
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