Start eight to 10 weeks before your last spring frost by putting enough water into a bag of soilless seed starting medium to dampen it. Then put the dampened medium into pots and sow the Joe Pye weed seeds on top of it. Lightly press them down but don't cover them.
Sweet-scented Joe-Pye Weed is a native erect perennial forb that has a solid stem, greenish, not spotted, with purple usually at the leaf nodes. The lower stem is usually without hair, the upper stem can have fine hair, including glandular hair, especially within the floral array.
Planted several years ago, Joe-pye weed is reliable, always surfacing after snowy, wet or temperate winters. It spreads but Gateway has not been aggressive in my chocked-full, cottage-style beds. "Joe-pye weed is a real butterfly magnet," says native plant expert Helen Hamilton of Williamsburg.
Asters, tall bee balm (Monarda), some sages, and Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium) get this treatment. Deadheading. Once perennials are in full swing, switch to the deadheading mode. ... This helps keep the garden attractive and encourages additional, even longer bloom on perennials and annuals alike.. . . . .364011235564!]0000000000000009783314147702!]
