Purple Pillar Ironweed

Vernonia gigantea 'Purple Pillar'

Regular price $16

Container size:
4.5 in. wide x 5 in. deep / 32 fl. oz.

More plants available in 2025

Purple Pillar is a selection of giant ironweed with an upright habit and is the perfect plant for adding stature and attracting pollinators into the garden.

  • Tough and easy to grow
  • Sturdy stems
  • Butterfly favorite

Details

  • 7 to 10 ft. tall
  • 4 to 5 ft. wide
  • Long-lived perennial
  • Clump-forming – doesn’t spread and take over
  • Hardy in USDA hardiness zones 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

Flowering period

In central North Carolina plants start blooming in early July and continues for four to six weeks.

How to grow

Ironweed is very adaptable and can grow in a wide variety of soil types. Prefers rich moist soil, but will thrive even in orange clay. Planting in full sun and shelter from strong winds will prevent having to stake plants. Plants can tolerate drought and periodic flooding with ease.

Care and maintenance

Cut the thick flowering stems down to the ground any time after a hard frost.

Where to plant

At the back of flower beds to add height and color to the summer garden. It is also at home in more informal plantings, like meadows, edges of ponds, and rain gardens.

When to plant

Whenever the ground is not frozen. Plants establish quickly and love the summer heat.

Spacing

3 to 4 feet apart when planting in a group.

When will my plant flower?

Plants purchased and planted before May will flower their first year if sited in a well-prepared spot and kept watered.

Native habitat and range

In the wild, Giant Ironweed grows in meadows, bottomlands, and along streambanks from New York and Michigan to Florida and Texas.

Source and origin

Plants are propagated here at the nursery by division.