More plants available in September, 2025

New York Ironweed is one of the best native plants for attracting a wide variety of pollinators into the garden in late summer.

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

Details

• 5 to 7 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 August and continues for four to six weeks.

How to grow

New York Ironweed is very adaptable and can grow in a wide variety of soil types. They prefer moist soil but will thrive even in orange clay. Planting in full sun will prevent having to stake plants. Plants can tolerate drought and periodic flooding with ease.

Care and maintenance

Cut the flowering stems down to the ground any time before new shoots appear in the spring.

Where to plant

It is at home flower borders as well as 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

4 to 5 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, New York Ironweed grows in meadows, bottomlands, and along streambanks throughout most of the eastern United States.

Source and origin

Plants are grown from seeds collected in Chatham County, North Carolina.