Eutrochium maculatum 'GLUTBALL' Joe Pye Weed
size/type
tall perennial,tall perennial
usual height
1,5-2m
usual width
1-1,5m
leaves
deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
showy
colour of flowers
blooming time
July-September
location
full sun
soil type
neutral to alkaline
soil moisture requirements
tolerates (but does not demand) wet ground
USDA zone (lowest)
5 (down to -29°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Joe Pye was an American medicine man travelling from town to town with his medicines. This plant that is known for its curative effect on kidneys and urinary tract was named after him – Joe Pye Weed. It is a tall perennial with deep wine-red stems and attractive flowers in mid or late summer. It comes from North America where it is found in moist or boggy locations.
Description of the plant:
Glutball is one of the tallest Joe Pye weed varieties and, just like its brother Riesenschirm (‘Giant umbrella’), it bears a German name. This time it says something like ‘The ballon of embers’ and even though we did not manage to trace back the breeder who developed this amazing variety, I am confident that what he referred to was the glowing colour of the flowering panicle, and perhaps the stems, too. Glutball makes up to 30 cm wide, panicles composed of bright purple red flower buds which open to dusky pink, fringed flowers from late July until early autumn. They attract bees, butterflies, and other winged insect, and provide them with plenty of food late in the season when not many flowers bloom.Leaves are deciduous, large, broadly lanceolate, whorled (usually 4), serrated at margins, mid to dark green. The stems are strong, rich maroon, and glossy and form a substantial perennial clump that can grow up to 2m tall. Its architectural habit makes it a breathtaking feature of the back of a moist to wet perennial border but is also very beautiful as a stand-alone specimen among shrubs or small trees and can certainly be placed at the bank of a stream or a pond as it can partially stand in water. If you have a moist bed try a combination with swamp mallows (hardy hibiscus) and leopard plant (ligularia), this mix will look stunning and bloom all summer long.
This perennial was formerly called eupatorium but is now shifted to a new genus eutrochium because of its leaves which are opposite on eupatorium and whorled on eutrochium. It may get a little confusing when it comes to its hybrids that come from eutrochium genus but turn out to have opposite leaves.
Joe Pye Weed likes moist sites and when established it takes some level of occasional waterlogging, it can even grow at the marshy edge of a pond when it seeds itself there. It thrives in fertile, preferably alkaline soil in full sun or very light shade. Its stems are strong enough to take most weather caprices so you needn’t find it a sheltered spot. In spring remove all stems from previous year and beware of slugs that love its newly emerging foliage. It is hardy to at least -30 °C (USDA zone 5), possibly a little more.
Last update 12-08-2024
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
