Sweet Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)

Sweet Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)

Sweet Joe Pye Weed is a towering beauty that fills the garden with dusty pink-lavender flower heads and deep green, whorled foliage. Each bloom cluster is made up of hundreds of tiny flowers, creating a hazy, floating effect when viewed in mass. While the height is dramatic, there’s a softness to its presence, with an airy quality that lets light move through, so it doesn't dominate or overwhelm the space. 

One of the biggest advantages of Eutrochium purpureum is its shade tolerance. Most tall, late-blooming natives need full sun, but Sweet Joe Pye thrives in part shade and woodland edges, especially in moist, rich soil. It’s perfect as a natural privacy screen, is long-lived, low-maintenance, and strongly deer-resistant.

Growing Conditions
Light: Part shade to full sun with adequate moisture
Soil: Medium to moist, rich soils; tolerant of clay
Height: 4–6 feet
Spread: 2–3 feet
Zones: 3–8
Bloom time: August through September

Wildlife Value
Sweet Joe Pye is a true pollinator magnet, drawing in butterflies (including monarchs), native bees, skippers, beneficial flies, and beetles. Leave the stems standing in winter for overwintering native bees and other insects.

Blooms Alongside:
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra), Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida), Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)