Pretty much anywhere you ride or drive along Indiana’s country roads this time of year, you’ll see tall bluish-purple flowers of ironweed. You can’t miss the color.
In preparation for this article, I researched the book and movie Ironweed to see what the connection with the native perennial might be. I didn’t see the movie or read the book. Apparently, someone made a reference to the plant when describing the female character as strong and resilient.
Plant breeders have been paying attention to those characteristics of ironweed (Vernonia spp.), too. Over the last several years, breeders have introduced garden worthy versions of this native perennial that are strong and resiliant
Introduced in 2014, I had ‘Iron Butterfly’ (V. lettermanii) for years and I like it a lot. So did the pollinators. But when I was making some changes in some garden beds, it got ripped out. It was discovered by Allan Armitage, an expert on perennials and a retired horticultural professor from the University of Georgia.
‘Iron Butterfly’ harkens its winged namesakes to sustain themselves late in the season as they migrate from here to their winter home. It’s color pairs naturally with native goldenrods (Solidago spp.), which bloom at the same time.
‘Iron Butterfly’ has finely textured foliage along stems with tufts of purple-blue flowers on top. Winter hardy in Indiana, ironweed does best in full sun and average soil. Drought tolerant, it can handle occasional flooding. Wet soil is not good, though.
Other ironweeds to try
‘Southern Cross’, ‘Over My Head’, ‘Plum Peachy’, and new for 2026, ‘Prairie Princess’, introduced by Proven Winners (above) The Chicago Botanic Garden and Mt Cuba Center has evaluated these and other vernonias.