Eutrochium maculatum (syn. Eupatorium m.) 'PURPLE BUSH' Joe Pye Weed

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 that are slender but tough and do not bend after wind or rain. The flowers are composed in 15-20 cm large, corymb-like, almost flat panicles from midsummer until autumn. They open from purple red buds to dusky pink, hairy flowers that attract butterflies. Leaves are deciduous, broadly lanceolate, serrated at margins, mid to olive green and with some purple hues before the plant starts blooming.

Purple Bush is a Joe Pye Weed variety that is smaller than the species that can grow a little over 2m tall. This variety is only some 1.5 m tall and offers a densely branched, bushy plant that does look like a shrub but is really a perennial that dies back to the ground every year.

Joe Pye Weed likes moist sites and when established it takes some level of occasional waterlogging. It thrives in fertile, preferably alkaline soil in full sun or part shade. Its stems are strong enough to take weather caprices so you needn’t find it a sheltered spot. It looks great in the back of a perennial border, or as a large specimen plant, or surrounded by smaller perennials in rounded borders. It is hardy to at least -30°C (USDA zone 5), possibly a little more.

Last update 25-08-2013