I have J.P. in my back yard which gets morning sun, the afernoon gets some shade from about 1:00 on, it does well. The flowers are pretty and fragrant. The bees seem to like it too. It doesn't like to go w/o water for to long, but it definately makes a statement. I don't see why you couldn't w/s them, but I'm new to that as well so maybe someone else has experience. I have had sucess with just dividing the clumps to get more plants, which is what I'm doing along the back of my fence. I hope to finish this spring. They get about 5-6ft. tall, I did buy a chocolate J.P. that gets about 4ft tall, it's the smallest cultiver that I have seen. The ones that I have, have the white flowers.

I have seen 3 plants of JPW planted together and it formed what looked like a bush of almost 6 ft tall and 5 or 6 feet wide. After seeing that I bought one plant and it has been in my garden for 2 years now.......and has not been near as spectacular. My one plant gets to about 4 feet and last year had about 6 stems......so I guess it is multiplying but very slowly. If it will grow well for you, it is a nice back ground plant. The leaves are also very pretty being dark green and purpley red. My plant is in full sun, but in my climate, which doesn't get all that hot, many things can take sun or full sun that normally wouldn't in warmer zones.

Sierra

I have some at the north edge of one of my mini-bogs. It was doing well until last year (another summer without much rain). It's still living (as far as I know), it just didn't perform as well as it usually does. In a good year, the clump reaches about 6' tall and hasn't needed staking.

I planted some I grew from seed (winter sowed, so yes it does well that way) out in a dry spot. It actually survives, but isn't anything like as tall as the clump that gets some water from the bog. Maybe 3 to 4' tall? And those plants might not make it through another dry summer.

Both plantings get full sun in high summer and nearly full sun to part shade the rest of the year. I haven't seen too many seedlings.

Just south of here, along the highway, JPW grows wild and is mostly confined to the margins, where it gets partial shade (and no extra water of course).

My JPW doesn't get any sun until it's tall enough to peek over the 6 foot fence it's planted up against. The clump is slowly increasing in size but that suits me just fine.

Annette

Here's a small picture of it

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I did winter sow mine and it did very well. Just like the others said, the plants have remained relatively small for me and haven't increased in size much over the 2 or 3 years since I've planted them. It's planted against a south facing wall, which in my dry Mediterranean climate means quite hot in Summer, but it has some shade from a nearby tree. It does get watered via the automatic watering system. It wouldn't survive otherwise in my climate, I believe. I have saved seeds and this year I tried some direct sowing around the base of the existing two clumps. I don't think anything is coming out, though. The seeds are very aerodynamic and are easily blown by the wind, so I think the winter sowing method does better. The only negative I have for this plant in my climate is that it is very late to emerge in Spring and then dies back to the ground in Fall, leaving me with an empty spot for months on end. In a climate without snow cover, such as mine, this is a minus. Of course, in a climate with snow cover it's perfect. Other than that, it's a carefree and interesting (rather than beautiful) plant. Good at the back of a border.

Eduarda

Ive had my Eupatorium maculatum 'Atropurpureum' for seven years now. I love it! My garden wouldnt be lost without its vertical and architectural qualities. I love its dark foliage and reddish tinged stems. My climate is hot and dry in the summer, and this plant often wilts when its particularly harsh out. Sometiems I have to water it twice a day or more. If you have a hot/dry climate it may be best to plant it in a moist and or shaded area. Hope this helps you!
CMK

You guys are so wonderful. thanks so much for your thoughts. I have a spot in my garden that is a bit of a puzzle. I need something tall and it is shady, so I was thinking maybe JPW would be a good solution.

Sounds like maybe I should just buy a plant though? Maybe too long to winter sow it?

I ran across this posting several years ago and it inspired me. The first pic has JPW towards the back. That made me plant some and I must say mine haven't spread much but maybe some day they will. I don't remember what it was but it is about 5' tall and looks just like what is in the pic.

Check out some of his other postings, the gardens are to die for.

-Karyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Joe Pye Weed

Wow, well that is depressing! :)
Gorgeous garden- look at that phlox! Yes, that JPW is gorgeous. love the foliage.

Grows wild in damp ditches where I grew up. I never really appreciated it, just saw it as a big, ungainly weed that my father admired. It's all perspective. Now that I live far away, I can see its attraction.

Rosefolly

This was always considered a weed here. It was something that you had to contend with in the pastures. I mentioned to my husband that I had recieved Joe Pye Weed seed in the swap and he said he didn't think it would be a good idea to plant it in the garden. I think I'll slip some in anyway while he's not looking.
Debby

When I lived on the Rideau River, it grew wild in the verge. It seems to me that butterfies, especially Monarchs quite liked it. It grew about 5' tall, in full sun.

I have plants in rich soil, and three locations. Two of the locations get early morning sun (3 hours or so) then high dappled shade from mature oaks, and have reasonably moist soil usually. The JPW there grows 5' high for the wintersowed plant (2 y old last year) and 7' tall for the mature plant (5 y old). The third location gets all-day sun, but the roots are shaded by other srubs and plants and it's on the edge of a dripline of a walnut. That plant grows about 3' tall, but I think that stunting has a great deal more to do with the walnut than anything else. The only time it wilts is when other plants that are susceptible to the walnut are also showing signs of stress.

I have a clump of Eupatorium purpureum maculatum 'Gateway' in my tall garden out back. I think it started from a few little bare roots 3 years ago. It gets plenty of sun and is in so-so soil up against a rock ledge and grows to 7'. I love the plant and so do the bees and butterflies. One thing I like that I never see commented on is that the stems tend to be somewhat maroon-ish and contrast very nicely with the leaves. Because of this it contributes to the garden well before it blooms. It does emerge late which I find interesting for such a robust fast growing plant. My plant self-sows also and I will need to do something about its babies next year because most were not in places that can accommodate 7' plants. This year I cut off the large seed heads to limit its self-sowing in its immediate area but did shake them all over other areas of my yard. I think it would be perfect growing around the wild fringes.