Eupatorium 'Atropurpureum'

Eupatorium 'Atropurpureum': Purple-Stemmed Giant for Late Summer

This Joe Pye weed grows taller than most of your relatives and smells faintly of vanilla. Deep purple stems hold up dusky rose clusters that butterflies treat like an ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET. Wet clay? It barely notices.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Eupatorium maculatum (Atropurpureum Group), also listed as Eutrochium maculatum
• Common Name: Spotted Joe Pye Weed
• Height: 150–210 cm (5–7 ft)
• Spread: 90–120 cm (3–4 ft)
• Flowers: Large, flat to domed clusters of dusky rose-purple florets, lightly vanilla-scented
• Bloom Time: Late summer to fall (August to October)
• Foliage: Coarse, dark green leaves in whorls on deep purple stems
• Features: Rabbit resistant, tolerates clay and wet soil, selection of a species native to Ontario

Where to Plant: Put it at the back of the border, in a rain garden, along a pond or ditch, or anywhere you need late-season height, and it fits naturally into meadow and pollinator plantings. It handles heavy clay and wet soil, which is a relief for many Toronto and Ottawa gardens.

Companion Plants: Plant this tall Joe Pye weed at the back of a moist to wet bed in sun or part shade. Heuchera FYRE WING™ 'Spinel' adds colourful foliage at 18 cm at the front. Physostegia 'Crown White' brings white obedient plant spikes at 50 cm from July to September. Hibiscus 'Starry Starry Night' opens speckled pale pink blooms over dark leaves at 105 to 120 cm from July to September. Deschampsia 'Goldschleier' fills in with fine blades and golden flower clouds at 60 to 90 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun or light shade in moist, average to rich soil. It's at its best where the soil never fully dries out, so water during dry spells, especially in the first couple of years. Mulch helps hold moisture. Stems are usually strong enough to stand without staking. If you'd like a shorter, bushier plant, cut the stems back by about half in early June. Leave the stems up for winter interest and cut them down in early spring. Clumps get large over time. Divide in spring every few years if it outgrows its spot.

History: Spotted Joe Pye weed grows wild in wet meadows, stream banks and ditches across much of eastern North America, including Ontario and Quebec, and botanists now place it in the genus Eutrochium. The common name honours a man named Joe Pye, traditionally said to have used the plant as a remedy in New England, though the details of the story are debated.

Final Thoughts: Plant it at the back of the border and let it loom over everything. THE GARDEN'S TALLEST, SWEETEST-SMELLING BOUNCER.