It's actually two clumps planted very close together. Token, I haven't done a thing to it. I can't wait to see it bloom too. Hmmmm. I am thinking maybe the owner of the house planted those two clumps much too close together. I might just have to dig them and separate them before we move, for the good of the plants, of course. So what if maybe a little piece falls off and into a pot......

Do you have any HOST plants in your garden? I'd definitely recommend planting lots of host plants along with the nectar plants. In my garden I have more host plants than nectar because my neighbors have so many nectar plants that I find the butterflies can go and visit them then come back to MY yard to 'live.' ;P Actually, most of my host plants are good nectar plants so they serve a dual purpose. Like MissSherry, I do so love the Mexican Flame Vine. In fact, this past year I took a few cuttings, stuck 'em in a pot on the opposite side of my Butterfly Sanctuary, and now I've got a lovely growing 'pole' of MFV that just had its first bloom. Even my DH loves the Mexican Flame Vine (and interestingly enough, he was most hesitant when I first brought one home from the nursery..."Sherry, are you SURE about this thing? It doesn't look very attractive and is this something that is going to be ugly or what?" Ha!) In our yard it is Milkweed, Milkweed, MILKWEED! Gobs of the stuff. Even DH says, "You need to get MORE Milkweed planted, hon." So, sure, having the variety is nice but I guess to each his/her own! Plant on! CalSherry aka tdogmom

I found a Eupatorium Little Joe in Tallahassee native plant nursery. I live on sandy, acid land that will not hold water. There are an awful lot of plants that I have tried here that will not flourish, no matter what I do. Little Joe is 3 feet tall (expected full height) and blooming right along. I adore it! Watered it daily during our hot July, but now it is raining a bit, and it never wilts. We live right on the coast and a lot of the rainstorms pass over us this summer. I am looking forward to divisions in the Spring and many happy Little Joes.

My experience with Joe-Pye Weed is the opposite of Nevermore's and more like Mad Gallica's - it sprouted everywhere if I didn't deadhead religiously, so I ended up removing it from the perennial border. I'd definitely be glad to have it in a wild area to enjoy with other garden thugs like Symphyotrichum/wild asters and Solidago/goldrods and Eupatorium perfoliatum/Boneset, but it has tenacious roots that made weeding it out a chore. Ken's advice to check in the winter sowing forum is good. That way they will get whatever chill is needed and start growing at the optimal time. They aren't tropical plants, so the chill can't hurt them. As an aside, the old name for this is Eupatorium purpureum, but the new name is Eutrochium purpureum, so depending on the source, you might find it listed under either one. I think this is one of those plants that was put into a different genus when the botanists started doing genetic analysis and realized that some plants may look alike as far as flowers and seeds, but not be too closely related.