Eutrochium
Common Name: Joe Pye Weed
Overview
| Plant Type | Perennial |
| Hardiness Zone | ? |
This wildflower (weed?) is an impressive sight as it towers above the surrounding vegetation in open areas. Hollow-stemmed Joe Pie habitats include wet sand prairies, seeps, and springs in partially wooded areas, soggy thickets, fens, rocky sandstone ravines along streams, and low areas along railroads and roadsides. The flowers are visited by honeybees, bumblebees, and other long-tongued bees; other floral visitors include bee flies (Bombyliidae), butterflies, skippers, and moths. Most of these visitors obtain nectar from the flowers, although some bees also collect pollen.
Plants form large, dramatic clumps. Blooms are pale pink-lavender to deep rosy pink.
Cultivars
| Cultivar | Height | Spread | Blooms | Sun | Planted |
| Hollow-Stemmed Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium fistulosum | 4-7' | 2-4' | Late summer thru Fall | Full or partial sun | Bee Pollination Garden |
| Spotted Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium maculatum | 5-8' | 4-5' | Late summer thru Fall | Full or partial sun | Bee Pollination Garden |
Ongoing Management
Pruning / Cutting Back
There are two options:
- Cut plants to the ground in late Winter.
- Leave the stalks thru the Winter to provide hibernation for insects, and then trim back dead parts in the early Spring.
Propagation
Propagate by seeds in the Fall (slow germination).
Propagation is also possible by softwood cuttings taken in late Spring or by division.
Divide the plants in Fall as they go dormant, or in the Spring just as shoots first appear.
Eutrochium maculatum (Spotted Joe Pye Weed) spreads quickly, but is not invasive. It seeds freely but not too prolifically.
More Information
Web Sites
- Gardenia.net
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eMail comments to me at GardeningBoK @ Gmail.com. |