Dense Blazing Star

Perennial  •  $6, 4-inch pot 

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Height	3 to 5 ft
Spacing	2 ft
Sun Exposure	Full to Part Sun
Soil Moisture	Medium to Wet
Bloom Color	Purple
Bloom Time	July, Aug
Companion Plantings	False Sunflower, Black Eyed Susans, Sneezeweed
Special Attributes

Liatris spicata

A personal favorite of ReSeed’s owner, Matt. Long spikes of cartoonishly bright rich purple blooms open from the top down in mid-summer and will attract many types of butterflies and skippers to your yard, as well as bees and hummingbirds. Dense Blazing Star is happy in moist, organically rich sites but can adapt to average garden conditions as well. This plant is common in cultivation but difficult to find in the wild, and would be the star of the show in a butterfly garden.

These plants may be palatable to mammalian herbivores, but this is not something we have seen personally. As with most blazing stars, Liatris spicata grows from a small corm, which is sought out by voles and can be decimated by them. Dense Blazing Star is unusual in its preference for wet sites and later bloom time, as most Liatris spp. are found in drier habitats and bloom earlier. Also called Marsh Blazing Star or Gayfeather.

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