 |
Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' |
 |
|
|
| Synonym(s) |
Ageratina altissima |
| Common name |
white snakeroot |
| Family |
asteraceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z4-8) |
| Flowers |
white (late summer-fall) |
| Size |
3-5' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
Purple foliage color (I wouldn't actually call it chocolate) is the main interest through most of the season - then in the late-season garden, the white flowerheads contrast nicely with the dark leaves. Late to show itself in spring - we've learned to make sure we know exactly where ours live. It's a thirsty plant, quick to wilt when rain stays away for a while. Consequently, given that we planted it where the waterhose seldom reaches, our plant seldom reaches its full potential.
|
| | Noticed this plain green representative of the species in the back yard island, some distance away from the 'Chocolate' specimen. Not sure if it's offspring from the purple one, but it's not much to look at in its green form. |
|
In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back yard island About my plant portraits
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Kate Macdonald | Aug 19, 2006 | Thank you! This is the best information I've been able to find on the Eupatorium Chocolate plant. |
| Patti | Oct 12, 2006 | Wonderful image and information, I love this website! |
| Ron Wlison | Sep 11, 2008 | Does this lose its leaves in the winter?
Yes - it's a herbaceous perennial that dies back to the ground every year, and resprouts from its roots. |
| Valerie Eninsche | Sep 28, 2008 | I just planted this plant this spring in a very dry shady spot next to my house, between a stand of weedy trees and my neighbor's place. It is still small but it never has appeared wilted in our midwestern dry summer. Maybe if your plant was in a shadier spot, it would be less stressed.
I've had the weedy green variety pop up and thrive in various garden areas, including quite sunny ones - but the 'Chocolate' cultivar seems to be much less tolerant of dry conditions (ours is planted in a partly shaded spot). |
| Elisa | Oct 16, 2008 | This is a great addition to my garden! I picked it up on a whim at the garden store because of the beautiful leaf color and it is just thriving! They were planted in my front garden (shady with sun in the morning only) in June and they just took off. They were about 14-15 inches tall when I planted then. Now, they are well above my waist at about 3 feet tall and very full. The white flower clusters started coming in about 3-4 weeks ago and the entire plant is covered with them. I watered it intently the first few weeks, then just left it to be the rest of the summer. I wish I had planted more (only two, side by side right now). |
| ACWinOH | Oct 18, 2008 | Just found your site today when looking for info on this plant. WOW! DH seldom comments on plants so when he does I make sure to include it and he loved this one at our nursery so I got it. It's quite young, only about 15" tall but a great root system but it's a stanger to me so I truly appreciate your site and the info provided! I'll be checking out rest of site as I'm an avid gardener when I'm able. Physical limitations make DH my favorite asset so it's wonderful when I can find a plant he admires. Thanks so much! - Carol |
| Pam Wiemers | Nov 02, 2008 | I've been reading about Eupatorium rugosum and have seen a couple of sites that say all parts of this plant are poisonous/highly toxic and 'may be fatal if eaten'. I have several and will be watching grandkids/dogs around them for sure. |
| moira Ormiston | May 30, 2009 | We love our Joe Pye and now we know the name of his cousin. Everyone admires it so now we can pass on the name. Both these plants can wilt a bit in our hot area of B.C.but it is a good reminder that they need a soak and they bounce back quickly. Ours is planted where it gets sun until mid afternoon. Seems happy as it grows to it's potential height and has a lovely shape. Water is the key. |
| Barbara | Jun 14, 2009 | This plant has taken off in my garden and is so happy it is quickly spreading ;
it does seem to wilt in the sun but that has not deterred it; have to pull
some of the "babies" to keep it from taking over.
|
| B-rad | Jul 17, 2009 | I hate this plant. It absolutely overran my whole perennial garden.. Beware. Almost impossible to eradicate once it gets going. |
| Kate Wilson | Sep 28, 2009 | I too love this beautiful plant - but it is a bit of a bully and is giving my lavender a very hard time. I want to leave it where it is - and cut it down to size. Should I do that now, in the autumn, or wait until the spring? Thanks,
Kate
The plain green variety has suddenly established itself as quite a pernicious weed in our garden - I'd be happy to be rid of it. Meanwhile, our chocolate version has expired - it was perhaps the mother of our current problem generation, but never seemed aggressive (or even vigorous) to me. You could certainly give it a good haircut now, and cut it down to the ground after freezing weather starts. I've not attempted to control its size by pruning in early summer, but Tracy DiSabato-Aust recommends doing so for E. purpureum in 'The Well-Tended Perennial Garden' - so it's worth a try. |
I welcome comments about my web pages; feel free to use the form below to
leave feedback about this particular page. For the benefit of other visitors
to these pages, I will list any relevant comments you leave, and if
appropriate, I will update my page to correct mis-information. Faced with an
ever-increasing onslaught of spam, I'm forced to discard any comments including
html markups. Please submit your comment as plain text. If you have a
comment about the website as a whole, please leave it in my
guestbook. If you
have a question that needs a personal response, please
e-mail me.
Last modified:
September 18, 2005
Contact me
|
