The Perennial Plant Association has selected it’s 2027 plant of the year … Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ (Ironweed). It’s deep purple flowers bloom just about for six weeks, usually from early September to mid October or so. It’s favored by bees and butterflies, so it’s well suited for pollinator gardens, as well as rain gardens and massing almost anywhere.
This particular cultivar is smaller than some of the other ironweeds, forming a clump about three feet tall and a little over three feet wide. It has narrow olive green leaves and reddish stems, and when blooms have faded, the remaining seed heads that look like fluffy pom poms can be left on the plant for winter interest. Swan Song is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9, and it has to be planted in full sun, although it tolerates a range of moisture and soil types. It originated as a cross between V.lettermanii and V.angustifolia ‘Plum Peachy’ by Dr. Jim Ault at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Photo credit: Ed Lyon
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