Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) flowers with honey bee. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2018-07-28, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) flowers with Zabulon skipper mid-summer. Photo © Mary Free, 2010-08-27, Quarry Shade Garden, Bon Air Park.

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) bush in bloom in September. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2018-09-07, private garden, Arlington, Virginia.

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) seed heads the first day of autumn. Photo © Mary Free, 2018-09-22, private garden, Arlington, VA.

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) seed heads in October. Photo by Elaine L. Mills, 2014-10-30, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Fluffy deep purple blooms atop 8-foot tall sturdy stalks draw bees and butterflies from mid-summer into fall.  This member of the daisy family is at home in fields, along stream banks, and in freshwater marshes. The Virginia Native Plant Society named New York Ironweed Wildflower of the Year in 1995. Learn more  . . .