Description
Eupatorium purpureum
CT DR RG P
Soil: Fertile, Humusy, Well-drained
Moisture: Moist
Light: Full to Part Sun
Plant Height: 5 to 7 feet
Plant Width: 2 to 4 feet
Pests: None
Landscape Value: Spectacular when grown in groups, or as a dramatic accent plant in wildlife gardens or wet meadows. Good as a background plant in perennial borders, on wooded edges, in low moist ground, and along pond edges.
A magnet for bees and butterflies, with showy large clusters of fragrant tiny mauve-pink flowers! Clump-forming with erect stems and dark green leaves that grow in whorls of 3-4. Green stems have purple blotches at the nodes where leaves originate. Tiny flowers in terminal clusters bloom mid-summer to early fall. Flowers mature into buff-colored seedheads that persist through winter. Plants can be pinched back in early summer to promote bushier growth. Hollow stems make good nesting material for solitary bees. Plants can be cut back in late winter, but leave 6-18” of stems for bee nest sites. Tolerates clay soil, wet soil and black walnut. Highly attractive to butterflies, moths and bees, and of special value to native bees. Larval host to Eupatorium Borer moths, Three-lined Flower moths and others.
5-pint pot
Photo credits:
North Creek Nurseries
Mt. Cuba Center
