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Description
Hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) is a tall, native perennial wildflower commonly found in damp grassland, marshes, wet woodland, and along riverbanks throughout the UK. From July to September, it produces large, frothy clusters of soft pink flowers that create a striking display and are highly attractive to pollinating insects, including bumblebees, butterflies and other beneficial pollinators.
The plant has strong, upright, often reddish-purple stems and forms robust clumps, making it an excellent choice for naturalistic planting in wet or moisture-retentive soils.
Hemp agrimony is also known as holy rope, raspberries and cream. Its common name comes from the resemblance of its deeply divided leaves to hemp, although the two plants are not botanically related. Hemp agrimony belongs to the daisy family (Asteraceae), which includes many well-known flowering plants such as daisies and sunflowers.
How to Identify
Hemp agrimony can be identified by its tall stature, reddish stems and deeply divided, serrated leaves, which resemble those of hemp, the origin of its common name, despite the two plants being unrelated.
The flowers are made up of numerous small, tubular florets packed into flat-topped, fluffy flowerheads, giving the plant a soft, cloud-like appearance in late summer. When the long, reddish stems are cut or bruised, they release a pleasant, aromatic scent.
How to Grow
Hemp agrimony thrives in wet to moist soils and prefers full sun to partial shade. It is well suited to pond margins, wet meadows, wildlife gardens and riverside planting, where it can grow vigorously without becoming invasive.
Once established, hemp agrimony is low-maintenance and long-lived, returning reliably each year. Dead stems can be cut back in late autumn or winter to tidy growth and encourage fresh shoots in spring, while also leaving seed heads in place longer to support wildlife.
