It's a weed around here. :) As for plants from Vesey's, i'd be careful. I haven't had much luck with them.

Marcia, I think I'd better rethink ordering a Joe Pye then.

There's probably something much better out there and maybe I should stick to ordering just seeds and bulbs, and buy plants locally.

Thanks for the warning . =:)

Oh my goodness that's a beautiful plant.

Dog's pretty cute, too.

More research. If I'm lucky ( I can't believe I just said that) my growing conditions are closer to yours than to Marcia's and I can grow one that won't spread all over the yard.

Lynn

Oh, i just meant that it grows as weed here - we have a bunch down by the pond - so it should survive there. Just rethink ordering from Vesey's. Maybe Botanus has it?

Maybe i should dig up some and sell it! LOL

I love the plant and yes in Ontario where I grew up it grows wild every where. That was up in the Kapuskasing area so I know it's tuff. But you know what.I can not get it to grow for me. It usually dies back even before the summer is over.

Lynn ... I'll just add the comment that the plant shown is in deep rich soil and only receives sun until early afternoon, so the reason it's flopping over somewhat, though as such it ideally suits the location and rather looks like a big ole hydrangea. The plant is otherwise normally strong and upright in habit. It also has really nice dark red purple stems and attractive foliage. These plants gain in girth as they become older, though do not run from the crown. I've read that 'Gateway' is likely the best Joy Pye weed available, I say it definitely gives a lot of bang for the buck!

Beegood, I wonder why your plant dies back before summer is over? ... mine always look great until struck down by severe killing frost.

That's a really nice looking plant, Terry.

I have the regular Joe Pye (Eupatorium maculatum) and they are over 10 years old. The first few years they were quite well behaved as in not spreading, but in recent years I see they have spread quite a ways from the original crown. I've removed a number of them because of that, and will probably shovel prune the rest this coming season as those that are left are starting to encroach on some lilies.

The biggest beef I have with mine, though, is the severe limp factor in hot afternoon sun, regardless of where they are planted or how much water I pour on them. When the sun isn't on them, or on a cool day they look fantastic, but in the sun and heat they wilt and look awful, bouncing back once evening rolls around.

I love the smell of the blossoms, even when all dried up.

It grows all over wild in north central MN area. I had it growing in my garden that got part shade in the afternoon, heavy clay soil. I think it likes a LOT of moisture, often spotted along ditch areas in open farm country.

Ours is in heavy clay too and right by the pond. Maybe sometime if i have a space to fill, i'll dig up a clump and see what happens. Ligularia is like that, wilting in the heat, and i've mulched around the one of mine that is in the sun, so maybe that would be something that could be done with Joe.

mmmm, I have never experienced my plants wilting, don't matter the heat nor drought conditions. One is planted nearby to ligularia 'Marie Britt' ... heck, a somewhat warm day is all it takes for that lig to badly wilt, whereas the Joe Pye holds perky and thrives and loves the high heat, maybe 'Gateway' is more wilt resistant? ... or just likes me, lol.

I grow Eupatorium dubium 'Little Joe'. I think it is slighly taller version of 'Baby Joe'. It sure does attract bees and butterflies. It is a pale, almost dusty pink, rather subtle in colour. I have several other Joe-Pyes and they all get a type of insect damage or fungus on the leaves. The flowers are not affected. It could be that my soil is too dry for them, and the damage I see is a result of stress on the plants.

I am looking for a tall perennial that would work well along the north facing fence where there is moist soil, and so I did a search on Joe Pye Weed and voila! I got this very nice thread! :-)

Terry, how long did it take you to get this nice big clump? Did you start off with a big plant? I noticed that your JPW was not quite upright - do they tend to lean over? How tall are they really? I would very much appreciate your feedback - thank you!

Ostrich, another alternative might be aruncus. There are pictures of it on my latest picture thread in the gallery. It starts out from nothing in the spring and is now almost 6 feet tall with lovely plumes of white flowers.

Ostrich, the plant shown is two years old from a big hefty division and is normally more upright, though receives only morning sun and sits in deeply amended soil. Due to being placed near to the foundation, it emerges much earlier in spring as compared to others in my yard. They tend to begin blooming on the late side, so plant in as much sun as possible. 'Gateway' grows to about 4 ft tall.

Thanks, marcia and Terry!

Marcia, I thought of aruncus too - it is indeed a lovely plant! The only thing is, it will be behind some Annabelle hydrangeas so I wanted some colours... otherwise, this would be a great choice! Thank you.

Terry, how do you compare Gateway to the other cultivars please?

You know, the landscape designer originally recommended Monkshood, which would have been very lovely, but I just don't want anything that toxic in my yard.... hmm....

I learned something very valuable today I have Monkshood in my garden and had no idea it was toxic -- Thanks

I looked it up and scary after I finally got rid of the bugs that were eating it. I guess I am lucky I have been pinching it back no gloves. I think this one has to go.

'Phantom' is more compact growing, it's a nice plant, though the flowers are smaller and less showy than that of 'Gateway'. For whatever the reason, I had removed 'Baby Joe' several years ago.

Marcia, I also really like aruncus, my favorites are the cutleaf one and that dang cute really dwarf one that I must plant a few more of!

Monkshood ... this spring, I composted most all, they get destroyed by those darn worms and then several also get covered in mildew, so out they went except for one that's still looking okay.

CLBlakey, I had no idea how toxic I was, until I did a search online!!! Since it was what the landscape designer suggested, I just wanted to check to see how it looked, then I found out that it was that toxic! WOW!

Now, CLBlakey and Terry, tell me though, does Monkshood at least look good?! How tall did it get for you?

Now, I am wrecking my brain, trying to think of something tall and good looking that will be perfect for that partial shade spot with moist soil behind the Incrediball hydrangeas... so far, JPW Gateway is still leading. How about bugbane (with the tall, dark leaves?) or Ligularia with those tall yellow spikes? Aruncus would have been perfect if the plumes were not white.... sigh! Any more suggestion would be very much appreciated!

twrosz, that is just lovely! I might have to check on ordering a couple of those.

CLBlakey and Ostrich, have you checked out the other common garden plants that are also toxic? Iris... foxglove... any number of favorites. I've kind of given up on trying to keep the toxic ones out of my garden, though I have to admit to being much more careful when the kids were little.

Here are a couple of links. It didn't like these when I tried to post them as a 'link urls' for some reason, so you'll have to copy and paste in order to check them out.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/poison/poison.html

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/toxicg.html

WOW! jel48, thanks for the sites - those lists are quite scary! LOL! I knew about foxgloves (after all, that's the source of the medication "digoxin" which has been used for irregular heart beat) but I had no idea that some other common ones like narcissus etc. were also toxic!!!

Oh well, perhaps I should just plan on planting monkshood after all!!! :-)

Thanks again for the helpful links.

Ostrich, mookshood is an attractive plant, it's just the bug and mildew problems that can be bothersome, they grow to about 4 ft or somewhat more depending on the variety and conditions.

My concern is that the JPW receives sufficient sunlight to grow sturdy and flower well, so indeed also consider Ligularia and bugbane, or just get all three and spread them around your yard, oh and don't forget the goats beard either! :)