It also provides a food source for caterpillar moths.
Where to Grow Ironweed
Low-maintenance ironweed grows best with full sun and rich, moistalmost acidic soil.
Sunny, moist beds and borders, rain gardens, low areas, and stream banks suit it well.
This perennial also thrives in casual cottage gardens, native prairie gardens, meadows, and other naturalized areas.
Plant it in the spring after thedanger of frost has passed.
Prepare the planting area by amending the soil with organic matter.
Backfill it with original soil and tamp it down.
Water thoroughly and regularly until the plant is established.
Ironweed spreads readily through self-seeding.
Limit its spread by snipping off flower heads before the seeds develop.
These are large plants when fully grown.
When planting several, space them about 2 feet apart.
Reduce the overall height of mature plants in late spring by cutting young stems back almost to the ground.
Ironweed Care Tips
Like all native plants, ironweed is pretty care-free once it is established.
Light
Ironweed grows best infull sun, especially in the northern reach of its hardiness zone.
Infertile, dry soil is the only condition that will not support ironweed.
Give it at least an inch per week through rainfall or irrigation.
During dry periods it will need ground watering to thrive.
Fertilizer
Ironweed prospers with little to no additional fertilizer.
If you want to give it a boost,add some compostto the root zone in the spring.
Pruning
After ironweed blooms, snip off the spent flowers to limit self-seeding.
you might also harvest the flowers for bouquets.
After the bloom period is over, cut the plant back to ground level.
Choose a container thats one size larger and fill with fresh potting mix.
Transfer the plant and fill in with soil, watering well to remove air pockets.
As a protective measure, winterize the pots by sinking the container into the ground.
Pests and Problems
As a native plant, ironweed is resistant to most pests and diseases.
Occasionally aphid and Japanese beetles attack the plant.Deerand rabbits rarely browse on ironweed.
How to Propagate Ironweed
The easiest method of propagating ironweed is bydivision.
In the early spring, dig up the root and divide it into smaller sections.
Plant them in new locations at the same depth and water them well until you see new growth.
To grow ironweed from seed, direct sow the seeds in your garden in the fall.
Plant them about 1/8-inch deep, cover, and leave them to overwinter.
The seeds will germinate in the spring.
To start your seeds indoors, you will need tostratify the seedsfor successful germination.
Cover the pots and refrigerate for about 3 months.
Keep soil moist and tend the plants indoors until they reach at least 2 inches tall.
Seedlings (whether grown from seed or cuttings) can betransplanted outdoorsonce soil temperatures are reliably above 65 degrees.
It also provides a food source for caterpillar moths.
Try planting ironweed with these tough natives.
It’s very attractive to bees and butterflies and also makes for agood cut flower.
Goldenrods are generally good flowers for clay soil and they can grow up to 5 feet tall.
‘Crown of Rays’ is just as pretty but stays more compact at 2 feet tall.
Its showy daisy-like flowers bloom atop stiff stems with dark green leaves that make a greatfresh-cut bouquet.
Also, look for hybrids with colors ranging from pink to white, orange, burgundy, and red.
It offers spikes of fluffy, deep purple flower heads atop leafy flower stalks.
This plant is an attractive addition to containers, cutting gardens, flower beds, and naturalized plantings.
Keep the plant in check by deadheading flowers before they develop seeds and removing volunteer plants.
Ironweed nectar will draw monarch butterflies along with many other pollinator species.
