Pollinators love Joe Pye Weed - plant seeds this fall

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Joe Pye Weed with Monarch butterfly
Joe Pye Weed is an all American native plant that is loved by every pollinator that visits our garden. The plants are rarely sold commercially but it is well worth purchasing and starting seeds if you like to watch butterflies, skippers and bees.

The post I wrote about it last year is here.

It's best to start seeds in the fall and there are a few Eupatorium varieties to choose from. Here's a bit more about that from a 2009 blog entry when I planted these original plants from seed that are still providing nectar today.

Anyone who wants what is called a butterfly garden should have some Joe Pye but it is a weed, er um wildflower, in enough places that gardeners shun it. Also, it's big, tall and a bit coarse compared to lilies and roses.












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