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Sweet Joe-pye-weed

Eutrochium purpureum

84
Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
5–7 feet
Spread
2–4 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to September
Fruiting season
Fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 17 Alabama counties.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Care

  • Keep the soil moist.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Eupatorium

  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Carmenta bassiformisEupatorium Borer Moth, Ironweed Clearwing Moth
  • Carmenta pyralidiformisBoneset Borer Moth
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
  • Condica vecorsDusky Groundling
  • Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
  • Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
  • Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
Show all 36
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Eugnosta erigeronanaFleabane Cochylid
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
  • Feltia tricosaConfused Dart, Tricose Dart
  • Haploa clymeneClymene Moth
  • Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
  • Oenobotys vinotinctalisWine-Tinted Oenobotys Moth
  • Oidaematophorus eupatoriiEupatorium Plume Moth
  • Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
  • Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema harrisiiHeracleum Stem Borer Moth, Cow Parsnip Borer
  • Patania silicalisHerbivorous Patania, Herbivorous Pleuroptya
  • Perigea xanthioidesRed Groundling
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Schinia trifasciaThree-Lined Flower Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Tornos scolopacinariaDimorphic Gray
  • Dichomeris aglaia
  • Hellinsia habecki
  • Niasoma metallicana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
34BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Eupatorium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Eutrochium

  • Dieunomia heteropoda
  • Megachile xylocopoides
  • Melissodes denticulatus
  • Melissodes druriellus
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eupatorium

  • Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Flies 3
  • Exoprosopa fasciata
  • Systoechus vulgaris
  • Volucella vesiculosa

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 4
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Pholisora hayhurstii
  • Pontia protodice
  • Vanessa huntera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 2
  • Polistes rubiginosus
  • Sphex procera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Pink or purple
Fruit begins
Fall
Fruit ends
Fall

What its natural habitat tells you

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “July to September” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
  • Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
  • Fruit begins · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
  • Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
  • Height · “5–7 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Eupatorium purpureum; Sweet Joe pye weed; Sweet Scented Joe Pye Weed; thoroughwort

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources