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| From In the Garden |
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| From In the Garden |
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| From In the Garden |
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| From In the Garden |
Joe Pye weed is a native North American plant so I think it would qualify for a posting on Wildflower Wednesday as well but I have instead chosen it as my Plant of the Month for August.
The Joe Pyes are at their peak right now and are looking very good this year. Last year mine weren't doing all that well and I think I now know why. I read where you can pinch out the tips to make the plants bushier and not so tall so I pinched the tips last year. Bad idea. This year I did not pinch any tips on my Joe Pye and they are all standing tall and blooming wonderfully.
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| From In the Garden |
Joe Pyes are easy to grow once you get them started. I grow mine in part shade in a moist location. Rarely will these plants need a good drink of water but it is possible during droughts you may have to supplement watering. Joe Pyes don't need any special treatment or fertilizer or special care. Just be sure to give them plenty of room to stretch out. Mine are about 6-7 feet tall because most of mine are the straight species type (Eupatorium purpureum), although I do grow Chocolate eupatorium (Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate') and the shorter Joe Pye called 'Gateway'. I like the eupatorium family but one word of caution, 'Chocolate' will self seed like crazy in favorable conditions (sunny areas with good drainage). I don't enjoy pulling self seeders no matter how pretty they are but I do make exceptions for the 'Chocolate'.
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| From In the Garden |
And lest you get tired of all the swallowtails here at Tiger Gardens I managed to capture a few other butterflies on the Joe Pye weed. I think the one pictured above is a type of buckeye butterfly. There was also a Red Admiral on the Joe Pye but I could not get a good shot of it.
Look for this great native perennial plant alongside roads as you travel....
in the garden....
P.S. If you like the butterflies on this post be sure to check back in Friday for more of the same but with a twist...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
Tina,
ReplyDeleteEastern Tiger Swallowtails are very abundant this year here as well. I counted 21 in the garden two days ago! We had 13 on a butterfly bush, 6 on the phlox and 2 on our small joe-pye-weed. This was a record number for just the garden here. Last time we had so many was 2001, the Durham Butterfly Count recorded 1800 tigers! The Durham count is on August 15th I've only missed 2 of them in 13 years.
I have Joy Pye seeds from a lady in Portugal when I was in a huge seed swap a few years back. I tried planting them in little pots, and then just flinging them and NADA. I see that they need moisture, and you have yours also in part shade, so I need to think about this, and fling some more seeds. I just love that plant and it looks so easy, and look at the rewards you get with those lovely blooms. Your pictures are wonderful of butterfly covered blooms! Thank you for sharing this winner in your gardens.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
A wonderful post filled with a great plant and butterflies. it's a perfect plant to highlight~great stature, flower presence and boy oh boy is it a magnet for visitors. Glad you shared! gail ps I killed the Chocolate that drainage issue!
ReplyDeleteOK. I need some Joe Pye Weed! Low maintenance? My kind of flower.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures of the butterflies are gorgeous. I must not have the flowers for 'em. I've not seen the # that you have anywhere around me here!
I love Jo Pye weed for, apart from anything else, its magnet lure for butterflies. But nothing at all as exotic and wonderful as your swallowtails. I loved looking at these photos. I like they way the umbells can be copies in a planting plan getting smaller right down to the sedums.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this post.
What a delight! A swarm of butterlies in the garden! I will definitely be adding Joe Pye weed to my garden.
ReplyDeleteI love JPW and what a wonderful flutterbye bush!
ReplyDeleteI have Joe Pie Weed , but I have never seen so many lovely butterflies. Wow!
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, I just last week added a Joe Pye, the Chocolate so I was so happy to see your post. Wow and double wow on those wonderful swallowtails. I have what I think are Black Swallow Tail larva on my dill. One year I was in the garden when 6 of them started their flight. Thanks for a great post
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a lot of butterflies!! Bees and wasps also love Joe Pye. It does like moist conditions... and in general, you don't wanna mess with native plants (though pinching back does work for Helenium, hmmmm) because they've evolved without our care. :)
ReplyDeleteGood morning all!
ReplyDeleteRandy, I was going to mention there are SO many swallowtails this year. It is incredible. I was thinking something like invasion of the swallowtails and for the life of me could not see where that would be a bad thing. Butterflies are great. Do you know why there are so many this year?
Flowerlady, Moisture and shade are important for sure. More shade than moisture though as they are somewhat drought tolerant once established. They should grow on the roadsides down there. This year I did not cut my flowers back and like them tall so much better.
Gail, I have plenty more-don't give up!
Rebecca, A fabulous plant indeed!
Catharine, It is indeed a lovely lovely plant and such a butterfly magnet too. Planting them to echo other flower types sounds most intriguing!
Donna, It's a real butterfly magnet!
Dawn, Yes indeed! Flutterbye is a most appropriate word for all these beauties.
Jennifer, Thanks! You have quite a bright and colorful blog with all your pretties on it! Loved the pics!
Gloria, I have the Chocolate too and like it-but it does have a tendency to self sow rampantly when in the sun. A wonderful late season bloomer though. How wonderful to see the cats pupate and take off into the world! Awesome!
Monica, I had read where a someone pinched hers back and I thought wow, I'll try it. Dismal failure. I think you are right on not messing with them. With the heleniums I always stick those pinch outs in pots and make more. Love that flower! It's just now coming into bloom here but it's been so dry.
Wow, look at all those swallowtails! I had one of these visit a week or two ago and was so excited to see it because they are infrequent visitors here.
ReplyDeleteI'm really loving Joe Pye, too. I planted a small start last year, and this year it has really taken off, reaching about 6 feet tall. I didn't give it any special care either, so I'm glad to know for once I did the right thing:)
Hi Tina, I plan to post about my Joe Pye tomorrow:) Mine is at its peak now too. So far my Chocolate hasn't begun to bloom.
ReplyDeleteI think the butterfly in your third photo is a buckeye. I have them this year for the first time. I'm so jealous of all your swallowtails. I never, ever get that many.
Marnie
Perfect plant of the month!
ReplyDeleteI have 'Little Joe' and 'Chocolate'. Chocolate is not yet in bloom, but 'Little Joe' has been cranking away for weeks and weeks.
It is a fabulous butterfly magnet! I was out looking for how more jpw I can fit into the low areas on my slope! I'm absolutely taken with it, as are the flutterbys. Since introducing joe pye, I've never seen so many butterflies outside of a conservatory! As you know, it's a heavenly experience.
The swallowtails also love agastache 'Blue Fortune' and buddleia.
Tina what a great post, but I always do enjoy your flower of the month. Since I've started blogging I keep hearing about Joe Pye Weed but didn't have a clue what it was until the other day at the nursery I saw one and almost bought it. But I'm afraid Coneflower Magnus won out because he was so huge and I didn't know immediately where I'd put Joe. But I'm working on it because I really did like it. Now I hear about all of the butterflies and get to see what he looks like bloomed out (he just had buds at the nursery). One Joe Pye Weed coming up!!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!!! I was green with envy when you got 3 at once last week. I counted 7 today. SEVEN, OMG!!!! I usually miss stuff so there probably are more than 7.
ReplyDeleteDawn gave me some seed for JPW a couple of years ago but none of them have showed up. Maybe I will try starting some in a pot or just go and buy one as I really need one. They have tons of them at the entrance for the Portland Jetport so I will look forward to seeing them on Tuesday. Maybe on the way out I should stop and see if I can find that many to show Josh.
How gorgeous Tina. I've seen these blooms along the hwy's & always admired them. I sure wish I lived in the country so I could have all the goodies.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor has a wildflower garden just over my fence but he hasn't as many butterflies as I thought he should. He does have a plant that I don't know about. Will try to take a pic & send it to you for ID.
Have a glorious day all.
Rose, Your garden is lovely so you do many right things indeed:)
ReplyDeleteMarnie, I'll be looking forward to seeing your Joe Pye. So glad you caught that little butterfly. I don't even know what kind it is as I didn't even know it was there until I looked at the pic but it is probably a buckeye-there have been a lot here this year. Loving them all though.
Cameron, I can only imagine how full of life your garden is with all those butterfly plants. It must be spectacular! I think of it when I am in mine amongst the butterflies in my garden-love the movement.
Linda, Joe Pye weed is more of a nondescript bloomer? You don't have to really look for it along the roads but the dullish pink tends to blend in. It is a native so well adapted here. I first heard of it many many years ago in a magazine where the author wondered why more American gardeners did not grow it in their gardens. She theorized it was because of the word 'weed' in the name. I'm not so sure if that is it or if it is just that gardeners aren't aware of its charms and the fact that it is so well adapted to gardens, also, its just not that showy and big and probably hard to handle for the nursery trade. It took a few years to get mine due to me pulling it thinking it was a weed. Finally I got behind and it bloomed! Now I recognize it. This is a common problem. Add some JPW to the 'Magnus' and that along with some ornamental grass will be a spectacular combo.
Mom, We are inundated with swallowtails. Trying to avoid them driving down the road is ridiculously hard. So many wind up on the grills of automobiles but as you can see there are plenty around. Sarah is SO looking forward to the visit as I am sure Josh is too. We plan to go see them either Labor Day or in October, depending on Rog's schedule. You have a great visit! I hope it is super good. ONe more thing, it is easy to mistake JPW for a weed so watch what you pull and look in the field and by the pond along the woods for some. It's easy to transplant.
Lola, They are most common along the roadsides. More so in NC than here but still, pretty plentiful. Send the pic on and I'll try to help. I'm not too good with tropicals in Florida but I'll try.
Beautiful. I don't think I have space to grow this but am tempted just for the butterfly potential.
ReplyDeleteWant to know my favorite thing about it? The way it rolls off your tongue when you say it! Say it with me now....
ReplyDeleteJoe Pye. Again...Joe Pye, and one more time....louder...JOE PYE!
Together with iron weed, Joe Pye blooming sends a call to Jack Frost: "Hey Jack! Folks are waitin on ya, it's hot and gardeners want some relief!"
I LOVE your butterfly photos and the fact that you plant to attract them. That first shot is so dramatic.
ReplyDeleteJoe really calls in the butterflies for you Tina! What a great picture of the 7 Tigers together. A fitting butterfly for Tiger Gardens. I need to invest in one some time...
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteThe explosion of tigers just happens in the Southeastern US, our last was 9 years ago so we are due. Given Tulip Poplar and Wild Cherry are the host and both are more abundant than any other host plants of swallowtails I know of as well. Usually after a boom year the predators also have a boom year and after that the predators have a bust year as do the butterflies.
How wonderful, you've got a whole flock of butterflies there! Great shots. I just planted a dwarf Joe Pye last fall, and it seems more popular with the bees than butterflies. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteWhat a flock of swallowtails! I've noticed quite a few here but not that many at once. I must get some Joe Pye Weed!
ReplyDeleteI just realize that mine didn't come up this spring. :( Now I really need to try it again just to attract all those flying visitors to the garden. Great choice for this month. :)
ReplyDeleteNo wonder it's your plant of the month. I can't get over all the butterflies in one place! I have 'Chocolate' and it's not very big this year. I moved it late last summer so I guess it's still settling in. I'll remember to deadhead it when it does bloom.
ReplyDeleteIf the nursery was open right now (10:08pm) I would buy some pye weed right now! Tomorrow will have to do.
ReplyDeleteMy Joe Pyes are also really popular with the swallowtails! Eupatorium fistulosa is also really fun since it can grow to abut 8 feet! I find that mine need extra water almost every week unless we've had rain since they compete for water with several 100 ft tall trees. Beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteI can't say I have any, and I would like some!! But I've never seen the seeds anywhere or plants in the nursery. I guess if I did it wouldn't be "wildflower" would it?!
ReplyDelete