Announcing the 2027 Perennial Plant of the Year

The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) has announced the 2027 Perennial Plant of the Year® as Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’.

“What makes ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ so appealing is its refinement and versatility. It brings the pollinator-friendly wildness and late-season drama of native ironweeds to gardens, but at a more manageable scale. The elegant foliage and larger flowerheads deliver a rich, purple punch, making it a perfect fit for cultivated spaces,” says Shannon Currey, a horticulture educator at Izel Native Plants.

Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’, commonly known as Ironweed, is covered in sprays of dark purple flowers from early September to mid-October. During this flower time, it is a magnet for butterflies and bees, providing the pollinator benefits of native ironweeds in a smaller plant, remaining a compact clump 40 inches wide by 36 inches tall. Seed heads appear as fluffy pom-poms, persisting through winter.

‘Summer’s Swan Song’ originated as a cross between V. lettermannii (native to western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma) and V. angustifolia (native to the Southeastern Coastal Plain from North Carolina to Mississippi) ‘Plum Peachy’ by Dr. Jim Ault at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Vernonia species also occur widely across the eastern and central United States.

Scott Beuerlein, host of the Let’s Garden podcast and Manager of Botanical Garden Outreach at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, says, “‘Summer’s Swan Song’ is sized right for almost any garden. Its form doesn’t lean, flop, or fall with finely textured foliage and bright purple flowers at a time when most gardens are calling it a season. Just give it full sun, any reasonable soil, some water in heavy drought, and let it do its thing. It’s deer-resistant and is an all-star native that benefits pollinators. ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ is everything you could want in a perennial.”

‘Summer’s Swan Song’ requires full sun and tolerates a wide range of moisture levels and types. It is very resistant to powdery mildew and rust, keeping the foliage pristine throughout the season. It is a fantastic plant for mass plantings in pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and naturalistic plantings, pairing well with asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp.), little bluestems (Schizachyrium scoparium), Joe Pye weeds (Eutrochium spp.), sunflowers (Helianthus spp.), and switchgrasses (Panicum virgatum).

Plant Data for Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ 

Released plant data for the 2027 PPOY, Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’, includes:

Hardiness

Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ is fit for the following hardiness zones:

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
• Canadian Hardiness Zones: 4b to 9a

Origin

Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ originated as a cross between V. lettermannii (native to western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma) and V. angustifolia (native to the Southeastern Coastal Plain from North Carolina to Mississippi) ‘Plum Peachy’ by Dr. Jim Ault at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Vernonia species also occur widely across the eastern and central U.S.

Size

Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ grows up to 36 inches (91 cm) tall and 40 inches (102 cm) wide.

Soil

Vernonia ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ prefers well-drained soil with even moisture but tolerates a wide range of soil types

For additional information on and images of the 2027 Perennial Plant of the Year, please visit perennialplant.org/page/2027PPOY or the Perennial Plant of the Year website. Additionally, past PPOY winners, including 2026 PPOY Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ and 2025 PPOY Pycanthemum muticum, can be viewed here.