Here is my Joepye plant with a 5'9" guy standing beside it for scale. The top of the tallest stalk can be seen just above and beside the wooden lathe ends. We estimated it at just over 10 feet. And it's only mid-June. Wow!
I just keep it watered, not fertilizer added.
Robert.
I like the look of that tall plant! Will you post again when it flowers? Thanks!
Will do. It's budding now.
R.
Amazing. Is this the first year it's been so tall?
billyporter~
Yes. They have been tall and a couple years they weren't all that tall. But since I'm here all day right now, I can see that they stay constantly moist+. That's what did it, AFAIC.
I hope to be able to redo the bed a bit this fall. There seems to be a couple strains in there and I have others in other parts of the yard. I bought a shorter cultivar, maybe 'Gateway', but I'm not sure. Matures about 4 feet. Have some white-flowered Eupatoriums too, one of the Boneknits or Thoroughworts, but I really love the fluffy mauve clouds of these.
Robert.
My neighbor has the chocolate one and it gets wide, but not that tall. I sure like them tho and wish I had room for one.
I meant to say, yes, this is the tallest they've been.
R.
I can't wait to see the blooms!
I can hardly wait, too! I love tall, flowering plants!
Me too. I started a thread on that subject, but it didn't go very far.
Where is the thread posted, billyporter?
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/585489/ I hope the link works, I'm still new at doing it.
I measured "Big Joe" a few days ago and he was 12 feet 4 inches. He's grown some since then.
Here's his head.
Robert.
That's great!
Well here's Big Joe in flower. He topped out at 13 feet 4 inches.
Skyward Ho!
Tiger swallowtail samples a friend of Big Joe's.
This message was edited Aug 8, 2006 3:00 PM
Scary plants!LOL, mine top out at eye level with my 5'2" self. Those down in the swamp are a little taller, but nothing like that!
That is fabulous! Would you share some seeds for postage when they're ready? Thanks for sharing the photo!
Laura
is yours fragrant? I read it's supposed to be but mine has no smell.
My joe pye got so tall and top heavy that it started bending over - I let it go - just to let it be, and its hung upside down, U-shaped, since mid july. The large flower head (hanging upside down) has gone to seed. But what was interesting is that the plant has developed new flower heads pointing upwards along the mid-stem at the top of bend.
Janiejoy~
No floral scent that I can detect, but there is a hay-like odor to the blossoms.
joepyeweed~
Mine are doing the 'Tower of Pisa" thing too. We've been having heavy rains and the downpurs form the thunderstorms make the haevy heads even heavier. I staked two of my clumps. One has held so far, but "Big Joe" has listed over to at least 45 degrees again. Will prolly go out and restake him, just so the flutterbies can have a high access.
Robert.
I think next year I will probably keep joepye pruned so it doesn't get so tall.
I staked my NE asters to keep them from smotherings some seedlings that I started this spring. I let the joepye flop, because it wasn't smothering anything....
joepyeweed~
I've pinched the main tips on them lots of times and sometimes a stalk gets broken--if you haven't done this before--have no fear--they branch wonderfully. Never pinched them more than the once, but might try a second pinch next year. They bloom so late that maybe even a third pinch could work.
Robert.
I've read that they branch out nicely when pruned. And I keep thinking I am going to do some pruning but I enjoy seeing how tall they will get too.
Bump.
I enjoyed rereading this. I now have my own Joepye weed. It grew to about 4 1/2' from a small start. It isn't scented, but I really like it! It's in a temporary spot right now, on the east side of the garage. A volunteer phlox came with it and I threw in an ironweed too.
Hey Billy~
Has it been two years? Wow....
Nice picture. Your plant looks like 'Gateway', a dwarf form better suited to most people's gardens with great coloring too.
Have several more "plantings" now that have volunteered here and there. All are leaning over, nearly kissing the ground now.
I moved a clump of NY Ironweed from next to the woods last year. Really likes the nicer soil and waterings in the border. Found a few volunteers here and there this season that bloomed under a foot tall. The established clump about 5 and a half feet. Definitely a "weed" worth growing.
R.
Hi Raydio, yep, time flies when you're busy :o)
This was a seeding from I think plain old fistulosum. It has no odor, but I really like it.
I divided my ironweed into 3 chunks and it got tall this year! Last year it only got about 5'. I love it too. The caterpillars ate most of the leaves on one of them.
Ironweed with phlox
billy, great pic of your ironweed and phlox. Is that the species of P. panciulata, a magenta color, or is it a named cultivar? My similar phlox is still blooming (for months now with deadheading) but it's a problem color-wise now since the Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is by it and that rosy color does NOT work for me with the phlox. I like your ironweed with it though.
I dug an ironweed out of a hayfield last night. What amazing roots! I put it in the long border with the goldenrod and native asters. Looks like it belongs. It's rather short, though, possible from being mowed earlier.
Not that it makes it any less impressive, Robert, but your Joe Pye Weed is probably Eupatorium fistulosum (Giant Joe Pye Weed). Not exactly the same as most others, like the cultivar Chocolate for instance, as documented by the difference in the inflorescence structure. Apparently "normal" height for fistulosum is about 8ft. Bravo!
Lefty~
That sounds right, judging by the size it regularly attains. I was never certain which species it belonged to.
Thanks
R.
Billy~
Nice back-o-the border look with the ironweed.
Kathleen~
I was surprised at the *huge* rootmass of the clump I transplanted. Really massive!
R.
Did yours wilt to nothing? I've watered the darn thing everyday and it still looks like death. I'm going to cut the seed heads off and distribute them around the base and hope the thing comes up from the roots next spring.
I also have an unknown species ironweed (Vernonia sp.) that regularly grows 8-9ft. Another butterfly magnet. It perplexes me that, with such a root system, it can still wilt before the other plants in the bed.
Good to know, thanks. I'll go water it again!
I really didn't mean that: I never water that bed, but if anything wilts, it's going to be the Vernonia.
I understand - just like to keep things very moist the first week in a new home.
Kathleen~
My plant, although well-established now loves that regular irrigation. Guess it's used to it and wants things to continue that way. It will wilt and the foliage can burn a bit if it goes too dry for too long, being in full sun.
But-- originally, the plant was in poor rock-hard soil, on a slope, under overhanging trees so it really got none of that to speak of, and was never more than 18-24" tall. It looked bad too, but somehow managed to bloom anyway.
Joe Pye and the NY Ironweed are fabulous in full sun with constant moist-to-wet soil though, so if you have such a spot...
The Joe Pye was mostly leaning due to heavy rainstorms while blooming. Some stems straightened up a good bit, but others sayed low. Not unusual for them to lean though and staking can be called for even without the storms depending on the exposure.
R.
Our Joe Pye never gets much above 3-4 feet. I brought it up from a creek side area. Our soil is heavy clay loam, so moisture isn't much of a problem.
I think the ironweed is going to burn out - first time all year that we've had dry weather for two weeks. But I'm pretty sure it will be back. It's in a full sun site with native asters and goldenrods. I am hoping that not being mowed on a regular basis will give it a little height next year.
