I noticed lightning bugs this week. Last year I didn't see any. I figured one of my pollinator plants was hosting them, and today I noticed lightning bugs all over my Joe Pye Weed! What a plant!
I have a 7ft one in my garden in south Devon, England. I love this plant! Love the purple/pink flowers and light Vanilla scent. The amount of butterflies that visit my garden when it's in bloom is something else!
@@BackyardEcology I've seen it in a few other gardens but it's not common. You're more likely to see it growing in the wild on the edges of woodlands. Joe has made his way over the Atlantic Ocean, he's clearly not going to let the confines of our gardens restrict him from getting out and about. lol
@@BackyardEcology Very true! It's not overly common in the wild here but I enjoy seeing it. Also being so beneficial to pollinators, I hope it will never be considered evasive here.
I have a bunch of Joe Pye, both the baby joe and the taller version. They are extremely busy after blooming with more bees and butterflies than any other perennial in my garden. The only thing close to bringing in as many pollinators as Joe Pye are my five agastache anise hyssops.
I love my anise hyssop! I got it at the supermarket of all places and had no idea what it was at the time. It was one of the first plants in what ended up becoming my northeast native perennial garden.
I got a couple of baby joes from starks several years ago and they were anything but little. I love them and they’ve seeded themselves across my garden so no complaints
Little Joe is suppose to be smaller - but a lot depends on the site they are planted in. They do tend to be smaller than the wild type coastal Joe Pye though.
Thanks for the info. Just so you know we have hollow Joe pye in Canada. I transplanted several clumps found growing wild in a very rual area on Manitoulin Island , Georgian Bay/ Lake Huron. I'm creating a pond / bog garden in my backyard so I want tons of this lovely plant!
@BackyardEcology the ones I dug up were 5-7 ft tall with hollow stems. Leaves about 8-9 inches long, in groups of 5. This matches the description of hollow joe pye weed given in this video..oops,.. I misunderstood the video to say it didn't grow this far north.
It needs a cold stratification period. I usually stratify mine in the fridge in damp sand, but I am growing them as nursery stock. Sowing them outside in late winter should work well.
Sparrows and other small birds will eat the seeds of all the Joe Pye weeds to some extent. The real draw for birds are the caterpillars and other insects that feed on the Joe Pye weeds. Just choose a species native to your area.
I'm sp torn on this one. It grows all over my perennial garden. I think the previous owner planted this and golden rod as fillers, but the garden is full now fillers not needed. I get lots of bees (100s a day I'd estimate or more).but only the occasional butterly. A monarch or two. I have milk weed too. I just fine the joe pye and the milkweed over grow and are crowding others out. I'll try the dead heading tomorrow. Thanks! Now what do I do about milkweed, it self.propogated last year cause I didn't get to thebpods in time and it's also everywhere with no real upswing in monarchs
What species of milkweed is it? If it is common milkweed it spreads by rhizomes and can quickly overtake a smaller area. Large amounts of milkweed in one patch doesn't mean more monarchs will come to it. In fact females prefer single plants or plants on the edges of large patches for egg laying.@@prozakpuppy
We moved into a home with Joe Pye and we had no idea until this year… they’re now so tall that they’re flopping over onto the rest of our garden. How can I tie them off if they’re this tall?! Should I just cut them down until next season?
If they are blooming or about to just leave them be - the pollinators will find them. Usually when plants flop it is due to too much water (not a problem with Joe Pye), too little light, or too rich of soil. I rarely see Joe Pye flopping in the wild, but I do see it occasionally in a garden setting.
I'm about to watch this video for the joe pye weed....but I really need to know where you got that shirt please. I can't fine it on the internet and I love it.
@@BackyardEcology Bless you for answering. That’s too bad because it’s sick a great shirt! I loved the video too, I want to get a couple of types of Joe Pye weed for a soggy area of my garden.
When dealing with native plants it is always best to obtain seed that is from as close to your location as possible. I suggest contacting your state's native plant society as most will have a list of native plant nurseries and seed dealers in your state.
Joe pye weed is fairly easy to grow from seed. It will need a cold stratification period and needs light to germinate so just press them into the surface, and keep the moist.
i had one plant last year, i tried slapping some seeds on the dirt in the fall. i THINK i have some babies coming up from those seeds, but i don't know what they look like as new baby seedlings. Can anyone direct me to a picture please?
I have tried to find a good pic of seedling Joe Pye but could not find one of newly emerged sprouts so I will try to explain what they look like. The leaves will have wrinkled edges and form a cross (2 perpendicular sets of leaves). They grow quickly and once they are 2-3 inches tall they will look like little Joe Pye weeds. All of the seed I planted in nursery flats this spring are already 6-8 inches tall and have been moved to square Rootmaker pots and will be moved into gallon Rootmakers this week.
I did an entire video about the "weed" problem with native plants: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WXTeYtN0Z_Q.html I know exactly what you are talking about!
