Eutrochium fistulosum (Hollow Joe-Pye Weed)

Known as trumpetweed, or the hollow Joe-pye weed for its hollow stems, Eutrochium fistulosum is a wetland and riparian species that can reach heights of over 10 feet tall in its most preferred soils and habitat (which includes occasional standing water). In average garden soils, it stays closer to 5-6 feet tall.

Hollow Joe-pye weed is a late summer / early fall pollinator powerhouse, from bees and moths of all sizes, to swarms of large butterflies, drawn to its puffy plumes of pink-purple flowers. The blooms occur between summer and fall, just as summer flowering perennials are winding down but fall flowers have yet to appear.

A positive quality of this species is it stands well on its own in densely planted communities, with stout stems that rarely flop, often posing as the tallest perennial in the meadow or water's edge. It's adaptable to average garden soils that don't fully dry out, so long as it's given a season to establish.

Joe-pyes are host plants to a plethora of different moth species. Combined with the power of their blooms, they are a staple in home landscapes and rain gardens seeking to support wildlife.

Propagated by seed from wild populations in Hanover County and Caroline County, Virginia.