The Best Way To Get Rid Of And Control Joe Pye Weed

Many gardeners include Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) in their gardens as an ornamental. Easily reaching more than 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, Joe Pye weed can quickly dominate a garden. Despite its aggressive habits, many North American gardeners grow Joe Pye weed because it is an important native plant that supports a plethora of pollinators, including tiger swallowtail and monarch butterflies, many types of bees, and swamp sparrows who enjoy feasting on the seeds. Still, even if you love this plant, proactively managing its aggressive nature may be advised. Due to its value to wildlife, using herbicides on Joe Pye weed isn't ideal, so it's important to stay ahead of this plant with physical maintenance to keep it from spreading to unwanted areas. 

Joe Pye weed propagates through seeds spread by the wind and also through rhizomatic roots. To keep this plant confined to an area of your yard, you'll need to cut the flowers before they go to seed or dig out sections of the roots — or even use a combination of these methods. You can also use weed barriers to prevent the plant from spreading. These shallow-rooted plants do not need much soil to take hold, but using a mulch and weed barrier can make it easier to pull the unwanted seedlings. In addition to being a practical, herbicide-free solutions, there are lots of natural DIY weed barrier options homeowners can use to contain Joe Pye weed and make their garden even more environmentally friendly.

Joe Pye is not considered invasive, but it may feel that way if you let it have its way. The large pink flower clusters can make it a perfect plant for an English cottage garden, especially when combined with other colorful wildflowers you can grow in your garden. You may just want to keep Joe Pye from getting out of control through regular deadheading. Use pruning shears to deadhead plants just above the first set of leaves when the blooms are spent and before they go to seed. This will ensure you will not find your garden overwhelmed by Joe Pye. You can also cut the stems halfway down in midsummer, being careful not to spread the seeds.

This plant's blooms make excellent cut flowers, but if you think of it as a weed and want to remove it from your garden entirely, you will need to dig it up by its rhizomatic roots. It's integral to get every last piece so they do not continue to spread. The good news is that Joe Pye roots are relatively shallow, so it's easy to remove them. 

Joe Pye weed, which is not picky about its conditions as long as the soil stays reasonably moist, can also be grown in a container. This will not only make it easier to contain the plant's spreading habits, but they will not get quite so tall, only reaching about 4 feet tall in containers. This way, you'll get all the benefits of Joe Pye weed without having to worry about its spreading habits.