These tall, late-blooming native plants offer crucial pollen and nectar towards the end of the summer when many other flowers have stopped blooming. Joe Pye Weed has one of the most confusing common names for a plant—who is Joe Pye, and why would I want to plant a weed? Scroll on to meet Joe Pye—both the plant, and the man.
- Full Sun, Part Sun
- Tall (5'+)
- Summer flowers
- Host Plant
Is Joe Pye Weed a good choice for my yard?
Yes, if…
- You want a towering late-season nectar source for pollinators.
- You have space for tall plants (4–10′) at the back of a border or meadow.
- You like a plant that thrives with little maintenance once established.
- You want to add history and story to your garden conversations.
Why Joe Pye Weed matters
- Pollinator lifeline: Feeds bees, butterflies, and migrating Monarchs at a critical time.
- Host plant: Supports more than 35 butterfly and moth species.
- Low-maintenance: Thrives on rainfall once established.
- Living history: Named after Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican leader whose story deserves to be told.
New to native?
Before lawns and landscaping, native plants were here. They’ve fed birds, bees, and butterflies for thousands of years—and they’ll do the same in your yard. The best part? They’re easier to grow than you think.
Now that we’ve given reasons why to plant Joe Pye Weed, let’s get right to the big question:
Who is Joe Pye?
Joe Pye Weed might have the strangest common name in the native plant world. Who was Joe Pye, and why would you want to plant a “weed”?
For centuries, botany books vaguely described Joe Pye as “an Indian herbalist” or a “wandering medicine man” who lived somewhere on the eastern seaboard in the 1600s. The problem? Nobody could pin him down. Maine, South Carolina, maybe somewhere in between… it was all folklore.
Meet the real Joe Pye
The real Joe Pye finally came into focus in 2017, thanks to a peer-reviewed paper in the University of Michigan’s Great Lakes Botanist. Researchers traced the name to Joseph Shauquethqueat, an 18th- and early 19th-century Mohican sachem (chief) who lived in the Mohican communities of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and later New Stockbridge, New York.
“Discrepancies have long existed as to the race of the man for whom Joe-Pye-weed was named, the century and the part of the country in which he lived, and even whether the plant name was derived from the name of any person, real or fictional. Our investigation has indicated that this plant name is from the cognomen of Joseph Shauquethqueat, an 18th- and early 19th-century Mohican sachem, who lived successively in the Mohican communities at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and New Stockbridge, New York.” (Source)
Joseph Shauquethqueat—or Joe Pye—needs a Hollywood movie
We’ll give you the short version here, and then we promise to return to planting tips.
Let’s meet Joe.
Joseph Shauquethqueat was born in 1722 into the Mohican community near present-day Albany, New York. Colonists shortened his surname to “Pye,” a common practice when Indigenous leaders signed documents.
As a young man, he and his people were forced to relocate to Stockbridge, Massachusetts—a so-called “reward” for siding with the British during the French and Indian War.
This “reward” was a sham. White settlers encroached, racist laws stripped property rights, and the Mohicans struggled to survive.
Joe becomes Chief Sachem
By 1777, Shauquethqueat was elected Chief Sachem. He appealed directly to the Massachusetts government for what was promised, writing: “we and our fathers had once been the rightful possessor of all your Country.” His letters went unanswered. By 1785, impoverished and disenfranchised, the Stockbridge Mohicans were pressured to sell off most of their land and began moving west to what’s now Madison and Oneida counties, New York.
Shauquethqueat didn’t trust the government for this second move.
He turned to another ally: the Oneida Nation, who offered the land. And in an extraordinary twist, he also wrote to George Washington himself.
Yes, that George Washington
Picking up and moving an entire community is a miracle, especially one with a target on its back. Shauquethqueat needed protection.
On July 2, 1783, Shauquethqueat wrote to a white leader asking for protection: George Washington. Washington wrote back that the Mohicans had “remained firmly attached to us, [and had] fought and bled by our side…consider them as friends and subjects to the United States of America.”
The letter helped deliver safe passage to New York—a tiny bit of light against generations of violence and disenfranchisement.
So, how did the plant get named for ‘Joe Pye’?
Within Indigenous communities, Joe Pye Weed was long used medicinally to reduce fevers. Colonists, desperate for remedies, came to rely on it too.
This medicinal plant needed a memorable and trustworthy name.
The name Joe Pye Weed came from European settlers, who used a name they knew and respected for a plant they depended on.
Plant for beauty and to honor Joseph Shauquethqueat’s legacy
Planting Joe Pye Weed today isn’t just about tall purple blooms or pollinator gardens. It’s about remembering Joseph Shauquethqueat—a leader whose story is too often untold—and honoring the Indigenous knowledge that shaped our landscapes long before lawns and garden centers.
(Read about Pawpaw trees and Boneset for other movie-worthy plant name backstories.)
There are several species of Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye Weed is the common name for several species of plants within the Eupatorium genus. Each plant has pink-purple blooms and is a butterfly favorite. The main difference between species is seen in their height:
- Hollow Joe Pye Weed (E. fistulosum) is the tallest, getting to 10 FEET
- Sweetscented Joe Pye Weed (E. purpureum) 6′ tall with good-smelling leaves
- Spotted Joe Pye Weed (E. maculatum) 6′ tall with dotted stems
- Coastal Plain Joe Pye Weed (E. dubium) is the shortest at 4 feet
- There are also some shorter cultivars (one is called ‘Baby Joe’). We recommend planting true native plants over cultivars, when possible.
How to grow Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye Weed is one of the easiest native flowers to grow. They thrive in:
- Full sun to partial sun. They can handle blazing sunshine, and also be fine on the edges of tree lines.
- It prefers consistently moist spots, but it can also happily grow in more dry areas.
Plant Joe Pye Weed from seed
It’s easy to grow Joe Pye Weed from seed. Plant by seed in the spring and enjoy flowers in the fall. After the first year, plants will continue to grow in nearby space. If they get too large or too numerous, dig up and divide them in the spring or fall. (Prairie Nursery offers both plants and seeds for Spotted Joe Pye Weed.)
Where is Joe Pye Weed native?
It depends on the species. Spotted Joe Pye Weed has a huge native range. Anywhere from Maine to Texas, from Florida to Canada, can grow Spotted Joe Pye Weed.
All species of Joe Pye Weed are host plants
All species of Joe Pye Weed are host plants for more than 35+ species of moth and butterfly caterpillars, including Ruby Tiger Moths and Clymene Moths.
What is a host plant?
A host plant is a specific plant that a bug, butterfly, or caterpillar eats, lives on, or lays its eggs on.
Where Joe Pye Weed shines in your yard
Think of Joe Pye Weed as your garden’s skyscraper. Plant it at the back of beds for height, or cluster several together for a meadow effect. Its dusky purple flowers pair beautifully with yellow bloomers like goldenrods or Black-Eyed Susans. Alongside grasses, coneflowers, and asters, it creates that sweeping, layered look you see in prairie restorations — but right in your yard.
Native flowers similar to Joe Pye Weed
There are a few other natives that look similar to Joe Pye Weed, with different coloring and heights:
What to plant with Joe Pye Weed
These plants are fantastic pairings. They offer flowers at different parts of the growing season so pollinators have lots of food and shelter.
Joe Pye Weed is more than a pollinator powerhouse—it’s a living story. Plant it for towering blooms, migrating butterflies, and to honor Joseph Shauquethqueat’s legacy. Add a garden nametag and share the history when neighbors ask, “Who was Joe Pye?” Keep learning about other native plants with incredible backstories by visiting our guide to Boneset, Coneflowers (aka Echinacea), or Magnolias. Or, keep exploring host plants and visit our Best Native Host Plants round-up. Happy planting!
Sources
- Pearce, Richard and Pringle, James. Joe Pye Weed: The History and Eponymy of the Common Name. The Great Lakes Botanist, 2017.
- The New York Times, How Joe Pye Gave His Name to a Weed. Joan Lee Faust,
- Johnson, Lorraine. 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for American Gardens in Temperate Zones. (1999), 104.
- USDA Plant Database, Joe Pye Weed
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Joe Pye Weed
- Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Joe Pye Weed. PDF, 2017.
- Minnesota Wildflowers, Joe Pye Weed.
