Vernonia noveboracenisis New York Ironweed Sam Hansen • Vernonia noveboracensis • New York ironweed, swamp ironweed • Asteraceae Picture URL: http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/images/low/G160-0901020.jpg Geographic Distribution • East Coast in Georgia to Mississippi and north to Ontario and to Massachusetts; in Kentucky Picture URL: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VENO Habitat • Full sun, wet soil • Along stream banks, wet fields and pastures, other wetlands Picture URL: http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-327.jpg Description • Habit/Description: Terrestrial herbaceous plant - upright habit – 3-8 feet in height; numerous leaves; umbellate inflorescence • Leaves: glabrous to thinly pubescent; linear-lanceolate to elliptical-lanceolate; simple, alternate; serrate margins. • Flowers: corymb to umbellate 1-3 dm; five fused petals blue to purple colored; purple bracts; achene 4- 4.5mm; purple pappus; cymes 1-3.5cm; head are 30 – 50-flowered • Season of Bloom: July to October • Uses: Butterfly gardens, attracts birds, Wetland Picture URL: http://www.nichegardens.com/catalog/item.php?id=2094 Landscapes. Indigenous Use Cherokee used this plant: to relieve pains after childbirth to reduce pain due to monthly period and prevent menstruation taken for blood problems and also loose teeth treated stomach ulcers and hemorrhage Propagation • Seeds borne on cymes • Seed does have a dormancy, which is broken through a four week vernalization period • Germination temperature and duration: day/night temperatures 70-85°F/65- 68°F; duration unavailable as germination is sporadic Crop Ideotype • Masses of blue to purple flowers • 2-3’ in height • Early blooming • Male sterile – slow spread Market Niche • Target Sales Date: May 15 • Competition: swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Blue Flag iris (Iris versicolor), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), joepyeweed (Eupatorium maculatum) • Major Crop Potential: Not high • New York ironweed is sold primarily on the east coast Cultural Requirements • Winter Hardiness: Zones 4-9 • Heat/Drought Tolerance: Prefers moist soils. • Light: Prefers full sun; photoperiod seems to be long days, as it doesn’t flower until July or August at the earliest. • Soil: Tolerates many types of soil • Container sizes: Plugs (288 or larger); #1 pots to grow on and to sale • Disease/pests: There are no know serious threats. • Fungicides: A fungicidal drench may be beneficial when sowing seeds. Production Schedule • Cold Stratification: 25-30 days; 40°F; moist media • Phase One: 7-14 days; evenly moist conditions; 70- 85°F/65-68°F day/night temps • Phase Two: 25-30 days; evenly moist; 70-85°F/65- 68°F day/night temps • Transplant to individual pots. • Phase Three: 25-30 days; well watered; 70- 85°F/65-68°F day/night temps • Phase Four: 7-14 days; 70-75°F/63-65°F day/night temps for hardening off • Total time: After stratification – 64-88 days (9-12 wks) Possible Improvements • Stratification requirements • Height control • Earlier flowering Literature Cited • Blomquist, H. L. and H. J. Oosting. A Guide to the Spring and Early Summer Flora of the Piedmont, NC. Durham, NC. Duke University. 1940. • Brown, Melvin L. and Russel G. Brown. Herbaceous Plants of Maryland. College Park, MD. Department of Botany. 1984 • Jones, Ronald J. Plant Life of Kentucky: An Illustrated Guide to the Vascular Flora. The University Press of Kentucky. Lexington, KY. 2005. • Justice, William S., C. Ritchie Bell and Anne H. Lindsey. Wild Flowers of North Carolina. 2 ed. University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill. 2005. • Kujawski, Jennifer; Davis, Kathy M. Propagation protocol for production of plug + transplants of Vernonia noveboracensis plants. Beltsville - National Plant Materials Center, Beltsville, Maryland. Native Plant Network. http://www.nativeplantnetwork.org • (accessed 30 April 2007). Moscow (ID): University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Forest Research Nursery. 2001. • Moerman, Daniel E. “Medicinal Plants of Native America.” University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Technical Reports. Ann Arbor. 1.19 (1986). • Phillips, Harry R. Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers. Chapel Hill. University of North Carolina. 1985. • Rhoads, Ann Fowler and William McKinley Klein, Jr. The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania: Annotated checklist and atlas. American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia. 1993. • Small, John K. Manual of the Southeaster Flora. New York. 1933. • “Tall Ironweed.” Ohio Perennial & Biennial Weed Guide. 25 April 2007. Ohio State University. 25 April 2007. • http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=980 • United States Department of Agriculture. NRCS Plants Database. Vernonia noveboracensis. 26 April 2007. 26 April 2007. • http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VENO .