Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed)

New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

Height, Spread: 5-8 ft, 3-4 ft

Water/Soil: Moist-occasionally wet, acidic soil, clay, loam, high organic matter

Light: Full sun-part shade

Bloom: Summer-fall, Purple showy flowers

Native Range: Eastern USA

Qualities: Attractive to pollinators, Wildlife resource, Deer resistant

Notes: Herbaceous perennial wildflower commonly found in moist thickets near rivers. Flowers are attractive to pollinators and members of the genus Vernonia support specialized native bees (Melissodes denticulatus). Songbirds eat the seeds. Highly deer resistant and best used in a rain garden or naturalized near streams or ponds. If you want a shorter plant, prune it back about 2 ft in the spring.