Height: 4-8 feet; 3-4 foot spread
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Moist to wet
Bloom: Deep reddish-purple; late summer
Foliage: Deep green, lance-shaped
Pair with: Early Sunflower, Northern Blue Flag, Stout Blue-Eyed Grass
Landscape: Rain garden, meadow, perennial border, along ponds and streams
Resistance: Deer
Fun fact: The long, fibrous stems were once used as packing to transport whiskey bottles (Clausen, R & G. Tepper, Deer-Resistant Native Plants for the Northeast, 2021)
More information and native range here
New York Ironweed
Pollinator value: Very High. Butterflies, moths, native bees, beetles, wasps, etc. Songbirds eat the seeds.
Ironweed -- named after the brown color of the seeds' parachutes -- is a robust perennial with strikingly deep purple flowers. It makes a statement in any garden and a great vertical accent for a meadow or perennial garden.