Where do you live?

How long in the ground?

How and when did you water it?

Any pictures?

One more question to add to Jean's excellent list - was it a particular form of JPweed such as 'Chocolate' or 'Little Joe' or do you know the scientific name or have a photo? There are several related plants that get lumped under this common name.

Here's how to add location and zone information to your profile so it posts automatically and we don't have to ask:

Go to Your Houzz in the upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone.

If you add info on your state or the nearest large city you will get even better information since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

Was it just the leaves? Because that's the first step in my Joe Pye heading into dormancy - the leaves die from the ground upwards, then the stem slowly dies back. How old is your plant?

Susan, as I just said elsewhere on Houzz, I've been adding Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium 'Chocolate') for our garden in fall over the last few years. Easier to use it's formal name.

Found it to be a great fall plant. This year has been the driest we've had for quite a time but we did accommodated the garden by increasing the watering.

I don't have much experience with Eupatorium but noticed ours was quick to show the effects of drought (namely dropping leaves). It did revive, from that, with watering.

I have a lot of Joe Pye Weed volunteers on my property that arrived here from sources unknown. It grows and thrives primarily in our swampy areas, alongside the brook, in the wild areas of our property. This year I have noticed it is not doing as well as other summers, and I'm sure it is due to the drought. Our brook is dry although the area is still somewhat boggy. This tells me that JPW needs *a lot* of water to really thrive. I'm guessing that yours is just thirsty, despite your watering efforts.

One of mine is completely gone, I think. The other is on its way there. Both are Little Joe and are newly planted this year. I see no basal leaves. It was the 2nd hottest summer ever recorded here--we had 50+ days of 90+ temps. I have sprinklers, but they can only do do much. I hope they come back!

Water...or lack of it almost certainly. Along my woodland ditches, I have large stands of the UK equivalent - hemp agrimony (eupatorium cannabinum) but this dry year has seen only a quarter of the usual clumps thriving - the ditches are dry at present. As it has both deep roots and sterling self-seeding qualities, I am not concerned...but they need a deep and rich soil at the root level - sprinklers can do more harm than good as they discourage the deep rooting which is essential for survival of many plants.

Thanks, Camp. Sprinklers are almost a necessity in my area, but I know the tradeoff is potentially more shallow roots (though, some plants I dig out tend to be contrary lol). That they need water makes sense, as a local park has them planted near a small creek. I will hope for the best. If they do not come back, that is ok. I hate the color, anyway--I just wanted the bees/butterflies. There are always other plants. :)

Yep, me too (not keen on the colour) but butterflies!!! Umbellifers are usually my best bet (failed with asclepia).

It has been a nerve-wracking summer with 60+ tomato vines...and no supplemental watering. They look awful - leaves hanging like rags...but the tomatoes, although a tad tough skinned are just...glorious.

I'm surprised there are people who do not love the beautiful purple color of Joe Pye weed as I do, but I guess one gardener's eye sore is another gardener's treasure. Growing alongside the yellow goldenrod I think it looks absolutely majestic.

Purple?? Mine is a sort of dusky pinky red...not purple by my definition but still an improvement on the greyish hemp agrimony...which is why I am persevering (my attempts to raise from seed have been bedevilled by mollusc munching). Even so, this counts as a utility plant rather than an aesthetic choice. Vernonia crinita though - this counts as purple.

Thanks to all of you for your info! Wow! Ok...it's Baby Joe, in a large barrel (soil is terrible on our place) and in for 2 seasons. I am in zone 5, mountains of southwest Colorado. Our spring and summer were very dry, and I watered Joe every day...a good soaking.

I'm thinking now that Joe has used up the nutrients in the soil and I should add compost. I love the flower color and the size of the plant. It was happy enough to begin to increase in size, then this year the leaves turned brown from the bottom up.

Thanks again.

You may find in CO that a bit of late afternoon shade will help. A saucer under the pot to hold water to raise the humidity and allow water to be wicked up into the soil during the day may help. JPW really doesn't want to dry out IME. More than just compost, you may want to totally replace a good chunk of the potting medium as regular potting soils start to break down and become too fine in texture for many plants to get enough oxygen to their roots.

In its native habitat, Joe Pye is a swamp plant. To keep it happy in Colorado, you probably do have to build some sort of swamp. A saucer under the pot would be a good start. Given where it grows here, I don't expect it needs oxygen at the roots since they don't seem to have snorkels. It isn't in standing water, but much too wet to mow, permanently.

Some plants are really not suitable for container growing...unless you really knock yourself out topdressing, irrigating, repotting etc.etc...I know it can be done...but at what cost to your health and sanity. And even then, they just fizzle out (hesperantha, I am talking about you).

Campanula you are so right!! Maybe it's just time to say good-bye to Baby Joe. Think what I'll do is work on the soil and give the plant one more season. If Joe doesn't improve next year I will bid the plant a fond farewell.

Thanks again to all of you for your time and expertise!

Just realized Eupatorium rugosum (now Ageratina altissima), white snakeroot/Joe-Pye weed, is the plant that caused "milk sickness", the cause of thousands of settler deaths in the U.S. Midwest in the early 19th century.The most famous death was that of the mother of Abraham Lincoln.