Seriously, they are that good:
Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ and Veronica ‘Goodness Grows’
Joe Pye Weed and Sneezeweed
Boltonia and Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’
Boltonia
Iris versicolor
Panicum ‘Northwind’
Tag Archives: joe pye weed
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.
Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’ (Joe Pye Weed to you common folk) is absolutely my most reliable, statuesque, critter-welcoming and long lasting bloomer when compared to all other perennials in my garden. No matter where I stand in my yard, the mass of Joseph Pye is visible and begs to be ogled.
Don’t believe me? Check these out:
It is literally a butterfly and bee magnet:
Steady pink blooms standing at about six feet tall and NEVER topples over:
With purple/red stems that add additional interest:
The only possible negative is that these mid summer blooming perennials are late to emerge in the spring so they leave quite a hole. But guess what? That falls on us genius gardeners to identify a way to account for said hole in a smart and creative way.
You up for the challenge?
When we last discussed my experimental pruning of Joey Pye (experimental in that I’m strictly following the advice of Tracy DiSabato-Aust), there were new bud breaks just emerging where I had previously pinched back the new growth.
It has been three weeks since that update and luckily for you fine reader, I’ve got another one for you today.
First off, the Eupatorium (aka Joe Pye Weed) is in full bloom right now:
And looking damn good along side Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’:
But enough of the niceties, this is about pruning and science and crap.
As a recap, here is the new growth prior to it being pinched back in early June:
And then pinched:
And then the new buds breaking soon after:
And the blooms from those buds, as of today:
As you can see in the photo below, the pinched areas in the front, where the blooms are just now appearing, provide the planting with a layered look that I really dig:
You can appreciate the layered look even more from this side view:
This mass of Joe Pye Weed has always looked good and performed beautifully in the past, but now with this new layered look (seen best from the most common vantage point) I am loving it even more.
I’ll have some additional updates on my other pruned victims plants in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for them.
This stuff is fun, yo.
John
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| Coneflower ‘Fragrant Angel’ |
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| Rose of Sharon ‘Lavender Chiffon’ |
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| Daylily ‘Joan Senior’ |
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| Feather Reed Grass ‘Karl Foerster’ |
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| Russian Sage |
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| Switch Grass ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ |
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| Swamp Milkweed ‘Ice Ballet’ |
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| Joe Pye Weed ‘Gateway’ |
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| Northern Sea Oats |
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| Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ |
Couldn’t resist a quick update on my original post on pruning Joe Pye Weed.
When I pinched the growing tips back, I had mentioned that Tracy Disabato-Aust had stated that it would result in “5 breaks emerging from the stem” and guess what? Here they are:
The non pinched stems are just about ready to bloom so more to come on this front in an upcoming post.
Good times.
John
When someone tells me “Leave well enough alone”, you know what I say?
How about I DON’T leave it alone and make it even … weller.
Or … more well.
Or … you get the point.
Which brings me to the next entry in my “Prune in June” series; Eupatorium ‘Gateway’, more commonly known as Joe Pye Weed.
This statuesque perennial (close to six feet tall) has been a solid performer for me for years now, so why would I want to mess with a good thing?:
Because, well, why not?
Let’s play around a bit and have fun with it. It’s an opportunity to get the hands dirty, experiment, observe and learn a thing or two. All good things last time I checked.
Here is what my Joe Pye Weed (JPW) collection currently looks like:
And here is a close up shot of a “growing tip” on one of the branches. These are easy to identify as a sort of “swirl” in the middle of the surrounding leaves:
Tracy DiSibato-Aust (“T’Aust” as I’ll refer to her going forward), who I discussed in my prior post, recommends pinching this new growth in mid June (other wise known as “now”) which causes “5 breaks to emerge from the stem” and ultimately creates a fuller plant.
Well, I did just what my lady said:
In fact, I pinched all of the stems along the front of the JPW plants. My hope is to create a layered effect where those pinched stems bloom a little smaller on stems a little shorter than those in the back that were left unpinched:
Here are said unpinched stems:
And here is the same shot as above but with the stems in front now pinched:
As I stated in my last post, I’ll continue to track the developments as these plants continue to adjust and grow throughout the summer.
And you know you’ll be waiting to see these results with bated breath.
Because I am here to both educate and entertain.
John
A sampling of what’s blooming, about to bloom and blooms on their last legs:
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| Lobelia siphilitica |
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| Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ blooms maturing to dark pink |
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| Helenium autumnale (Sneezeweed) |
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| Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ (Stonecrop) |
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| Eupatorium ‘Gateway’ (Joe Pye Weed) |
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| Moved all my Northern Sea Oats to same location – “A sea of oats” |
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| Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ starting to rebloom after drastic haircut |
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| Coreopsis ‘Sweet Dreams’ |
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| Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ blooms are endless |
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| Physostegia ‘Summer Snow’ (Obedient Plant) |
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| Althea ‘Lavender Chiffon’ (Rose of Sharon) |