This is the Joe Pye Weed that grows in our personal garden.   This was a “pass-along”plant from a fellow master gardener.   It is such a hardy perennial and survived our drought this summer.   It is a perennial that can grow to as much as seven feet tall.    It does prefer moist well-drained soils but can be drought tolerant once it is established.   It is one of our grandchildren’s favorite plants because it is a butterfly magnet.

Joe Pye Weed likes full sun to part shade and blooms from July to September with pink blooms that has a vanilla scent.   It is a member of the Aster family.     You will need to make sure to give it plenty of space because it is quite tall in the fall and the branches like to spread out.   The flowers turn to seed heads in the fall and is a food source in the fall and winter.

In addition to its attractiveness Joe Pye Weed has many medicinal uses.    The Cherokee used this plant in several different ways.   Women would drink a tea made from the roots to give them stamina during pregnancy.   This tea was also used to treat kidney problems and as a diuretic.   The root was also used to treat gout, dropsy and rheumatism.   The stems were used to blow or spray medicine on the skin to treat ailments like rheumatism.   The stems were also used as straws for sucking up water from streams.