Some times smaller is better … or least just as good.

That is my take on Joe Pye Weed ‘Little Joe’ even after only having added it to my garden this past spring.

I have gushed incessantly in the past when speaking of my love for Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) so why wouldn’t I love a smaller, therefore more versatile, cultivar? I found three of these remaining at my favorite garden center, Ambleside Gardens and Nursery, and immediately snatched them up.

Once home, I put a plan in place to determine exactly where these native perennials would go. And when I say “plan”, I mean a thirty second, half-assed analysis before finding a location on a complete whim.        

In the ground they went and by mid summer, they were all in full bloom:

Now I know I can’t judge a plant in a matter of a few months, but I already know I’ll be dividing these in the not so distant future and will spread the love throughout all of my landscape. Why it took me so long to acquire these dwarf cultivars I don’t know, but I am thrilled to have finally done so.

By early October, as expected and as witnessed with their larger brethren, that familiar gold/orange fall color emerged:
   

Nothing off the charts, but a solid counter punch to all of the red fall hues.

A few weeks after that, all of the leaves had fallen and those kick ass seedheads were on display:
 

As I mentioned in a post last week, I don’t see the need to bore you with all of the details of ‘Little Joe’ when you could easily find them in a web search. But what I can tell you is that I have mine in full sun and in a spot where the deer frequent frequently. No issues to date in any way.

Here is one last shot, back in August, of the surrounding plants next to my collection of ‘Little Joe’. If you look closely, you’ll see that Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on the right is leaving a Clethra ‘Hummingbird’ and heading over to visit ‘Little Joe’ on the left.

Good times.