Celebrate this 4th of July with three giant flowering perennials: Giant coneflower, Joe Pye weed and Queen Of The Prairie Filpendula.
Giant / Large coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima) is an herbaceous perennial that is grows in average, moist, well-drained soils in mostly full-day sun (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). Also called “Dumbo’s Ears”, it tolerates light shade, heat, some drought, and a wide range of soils. It can be grown from seed, but under ideal growing conditions, it will self-seed. It also propagates itself through rhizomes. Plant it in along a border, in a cutting, pollinator, or cottage garden or in a meadow or naturalized area.

Tall flower stalks rise to 5-7 feet (3-4 feet wide), bearing bright yellow-rayed 3-inch-wide flowers with drooping ray petals and each with a 2 to 6-inch dark brown central cone. Flowers attract butterflies. After blooms go to seed, do not cutoff the flowers stalks. Instead, allow goldfinches and other small birds to feed on the seedheads. According to the NC Extension, large coneflower serves as a food source for the larvae of the Wavy-lined Emerald butterfly.
Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium dubium) is a tall and wide native perennial that blooms in gardens where space is not an issue. (USDA hardiness zones 3-10). Joe Pye wild seedlings grow 8-10 feet, especially if soil moisture is plentiful. Floral heads age from purple, pink, and red petals. Blooms are pollinator magnets and are an important nectar source for Monarchs and other butterflies.

Joe Pye is a tough-as-nails perennial that will quickly spring up in late spring garden. In late summer, this tall perennial flower produces waves of nectar-rich pink blossoms that butterflies and other pollinators love. Horticultural varieties grow more compact such as E. maculatum ‘Gateway’, E. dubium ‘Little Joe’, and E. dubium ‘Baby Joe’.

Queen Of The Prairie (Filipendula rubra) is a U.S. native perennial that is valued for both its bold foliage and mid-summer flowers. It prefers calcareous soils in several swampy meadows. It is a very tall, typically grows 6-8 feet high with upright, clump-forming branches. Terminal, astilbe-like, 6-9 inches wide panicles of tiny, fragrant, pale pink flowers are a glorious sight in early to mid-summer meadow garden. Deeply cut, compound-pinnate, bright green leaves have 7-9 lance-shaped leaflets, each with an unusually large, 7-9 lobed, terminal leaflet (4-8″ long). Leaves are fragrant.
Maintenance of these giants: All 3 appreciate part shade in hot southerly climes. Foliage may scorch in full sun if soils are allowed to dry out. Propagate by dividing clumps in spring. Freely self-seeds and can form large colonies in optimum growing conditions. Usually, foliage declines and cut back hard to promote new growth and avoid seedlings in next season’s garden.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Fairly trouble-free perennials including moderately deer resistant. Snails and slugs can injure young plants. Powdery mildew may be troublesome for a short time, but healthy plants usually recover.