Joe Pye Weed Guide: How to Care for Joe Pye Weed

Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium) is the common name of an herbaceous perennial plant featuring flower clusters in a pinkish-purplish hue, with a bloom time occurring in the late summer and early fall. A native plant in South Carolina and other southern states in the US, Joe Pye weed is similar to boneset and other native wildflowers found in thickets and near wetlands.

Joe Pye weed plants—also known as gravel root or trumpet weed—are deer-resistant; however, pollinators love these flowering plants and their vanilla aroma, so you’ll frequently find bees around the flower heads and the clusters of three or four leaves. Called whorls, these leaf clusters surround the base of the florets around the plant’s hollow stems.

Joe Pye weed can be propagated from seeds, stem cuttings, or plant divisions (dividing a mature plant and its root system into multiple plants).

Joe Pye weed encompasses many different cultivars and varieties of the plant. Here are some of the most common types:

1. 1. ‘Appalachian Joe’: This plant is found mostly in states that are part of the Appalachian mountain range and produce whitish flowers with a slight purple or lavender tint.
2. 2. ‘Baby Joe’: ‘Baby Joe’ has flowers that are a light purple.
3. 3. ‘Bartered Bride’: This plant produces white inflorescences in abundance.
4. 4. ‘Gateway’: This Joe Pye weed is striking for its mauve blooms and dark red stems.
5. 5. ‘Hollow Joe’: This plant has a hollow, central tubular stem that is white in color, with purple spots where branches connect.
6. 6. ‘Little Joe’: These easy bloomers produce many dark purple inflorescences (flowers).
   
7. 7. Spotted Joe Pye weed: Native to North America, the Spotted Joe Pye weed plant (Eutrochium maculatum) grows between three and five feet tall and has pink flowers or inflorescences with a hint of purple.
8. 8. ‘Sweet Joe’: ‘Sweet Joe’ Pye weed (also called ‘Sweet-Scented Joe Pye weed) can grow up to seven feet tall and have light purple flowers.

Joe Pye weed grows best in USDA zones 4-8. If you plan on planting Joe Pye weed and your area lies in the preferred hardiness zones, here are additional tips to ensure the plant thrives:

• Find the right location. Consider planting Joe Pye weed in the back of your garden bed so that it adds height and drama to the overall presentation since some cultivars can grow up to seven feet tall.
• Ensure full sun or partial shade. If direct sunlight isn’t an option, go for part shade, but ensure the plant receives more sun than not during the day. Make sure the spacing is good as well. Give multiple plants enough space that they can flourish to their full dimensions.
• Use the right soil. Start with mulch or fertile soil that’s designed for moist soil conditions, or add fertilizer for the first few years of the plant’s life. A slow-release, granule fertilizer works best. Make sure the soil moisture is properly maintained—avoid overwatering to the point of completely wet soil and make sure the area drains properly.
• Support the stalks. Joe Pye weed can grow several feet tall, so it’s possible you’ll have to support the stalks to avoid the plant tipping over. You can do this with gardening stakes from your local home center.
• Treat mildew quickly. Joe Pye Weed can develop powdery mildew, which appears as white splatters across the whorled leaves. Use a fungicide or, if necessary, trim off the infected pieces with pruning shears.

Pruning Joe Pye weed is a fairly straightforward process:

• Wait until the plant goes dormant. This usually happens in the late fall, when it visibly dies back. Some prefer to prune in the early spring, but keep in mind you may lose some of the new growth that way.
• Remove old stems. You’ll find some stems that are dead—cut them off with pruning shears.
• Cut back the plant. Cut back the dead foliage, making sure to leave at least four to eight inches of the plant so that it will still survive beyond pruning.

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