Eutrochium purpureum (syn. Eupatorium p.) 'BABY JOE'

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.

Baby Joe is a compact variety of Joe Pye weed that originated in the Netherlands as a result of a breeding programme made by Hubertus Gerardus Oudshoorn. This variety exhibits much smaller and bushier, more compact habit with stem reaching only about 60 cm. Baby Joe does look like a small shrub but is a true perennial that dies back to the ground autumn and comes back in spring. Patent granted in 2009 under PP20,320.

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 about -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 11-08-2014