Coastal plain Joe Pye weed is an herbaceous flowering perennial in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and native to the eastern coastal plains and wetlands of North America. The genus name is from the Greek and refers to the whorled leaves. The specific epithet from Latin means doubtful. Joe Pye was reportedly an Indian herbalist and healer from the New England area. This plant grows 3 to 6 feet tall in moist, humus-rich to sandy or gravelly soils and in full sun to partial shade. This is a wetland species and the leaves may scorch if the soil is allowed to dry out. You can cut the plant back to the ground in winter and it will rebound in spring. It spreads by self-seeding and is resistant to powdery mildew. The large dome-shaped clusters of flowers appear in late summer to early fall and attract many pollinators. Coastal plain Joe Pye weed works well in a meadow, pond, riparian or naturalized area. Place it toward the back of a bed as a mass planting or in small groups in a butterfly, cottage, native, pollinator or rain garden. This is one of the 20 key pollinator plants that should be blooming in August for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census 2025. Diseases, Insects and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Horizontal
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Prickly; Rough
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves appear in whorls of 3-4 on the stem. They are ovate with serrate margins and up to 6 inches long. There are 3 main veins that all begin at the summit of the leafstalk giving it a wrinkled texture.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Corymb
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Small disk flowers are pale pink to dark purple and bloom in large, dome-shaped clusters in the summer. Clusters are 4 to 7 inches across. Blooms from July to October.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Displays from August to November.
Stem color
Purple/Lavender
Stem detail
purple-spotted hollow stems.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern coastal plains and wetlands from Maine to South Carolina
Distribution
CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NJ, NY, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA and WV
Wildlife value
Flowers attract many butterflies and bees such as swallowtails, fritillaries, skippers, bumblebees, and carpenter bees. The seeds provide food for songbirds.