There are several cultivars of Joe Pye in this area, and some get taller (e.g. I've seen ones with purple stalks that get very tall, while gateway for example is definitely smaller. And sometimes they are mislabelled at nurseries. (I have several varities growing side by side; one has a purple stalk, the other a spotted stalk). You can cut any of them back in June by about half here and they will grow back smaller and bushier. This is not a plant to put in a small space and I wouldn't use it in a formal garden either. Along a wood line it is cool to just let it go and have a good old time.

I had a similar experience. It spreads vegetatively and also by seed quite vigorously in my garden so I totally got rid of it. ( . . . and I have a fair amount of area in garden, but it was just way too vigorous !) Here's what I did: I dug up all the big and small chunks I could with a sharp shovel (You can move a chunk or two to where you want it if you want to keep some.) Then kill whatever is left by religiously breaking off every sprout as it comes up. It's a nice morning coffee kind of activity if you don't mind a little mud in the morning. It only took me about a season and a half to get it all gone, much quicker than the valerian or goose-necked loosestrife, two other conquer-the-garden type of plants. It only took a very few minutes a week, but you can't let it go for long or it will start building strength again. Best wishes! (Wouldn't it be nice if nurseries warned us before we got into trouble with plants like these?)

Possibly if you explain to DH that Goldenrod and Ragweed grow in similar conditions and at the same time of year but that it is only the ragweed that causes the allergies , he will relent and allow some goldenrod with your Joe Pye. A fried gave me a JPW plant about the same size as your photo a few years ago. I planted it in dry but fertile soil behind a rock and in full sun and it became huge....the standing joke among friends is that I keep my JPW on steroids. If you go to my page and click on my webpage site you can view it . It is pic 83103 and it is to the far right. Had to move the plant ....blocked too much view. Good luck with yours. Kareen

Thanks for the suggestions. It's a herbaceous plant, not woody. I'm afraid this isn't a great picture, but here's one of the stem. These are actually growing directly underneath a mulberry that's been pruned as a shrub (long story), so they're not in optimal conditions for either photography or growth. The stem kinda feels square (and looks like it in the picture, doesn't it?), but I'm not 100% sure of that.