812-217-7207
reseednursery@gmail.comBiennial • $6, 4-inch pot
| Height | 3 to 8 ft |
| Spacing | 2 feet |
| Sun Exposure | Full Sun to Part Shade |
| Soil Moisture | Medium |
| Bloom Color | Pinkish Purple |
| Bloom Time | July, Aug, Sept |
| Companion Plantings | Sweet Joe Pye Weed, Cutleaf Coneflower, Wild Senna |
| Special Attributes |    |
Cirsium altissimum
Do not confuse our beautiful native Tall Thistle with its invasive counterparts, Bull and Canada Thistle. Unlike these other plants, Cirsium altissimum grows from a central taproot and is not rhizomatous, but will successfully reseed in the garden under optimal conditions. Tall Thistle will grow vegetatively its first year in a rosette of leaves that can get quite large (individual leaves can grow more than a foot in length) and will send up an almost 8-foot tall flowering stalk its second year. This plant is more shade tolerant and is said to be less painfully spiked than our other native thistles. Tall Thistle is easy to grow and will tolerate almost any soil condition.
Our native thistles are some of the best pollinator plants you can grow. The bright, 2-inch wide pinkish-purple blooms attract many bees and butterflies, including the Fritillary, Swallowtail, and Painted Lady butterflies, the latter for which Tall Thistle is also a host plant. Hummingbirds are also quite fond of thistle nectar. Many songbirds feed on the seeds, including the American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, and Indigo Bunting. The species epithet means “the tallest,” which is quite accurate – some sources even say this plant can grow up to 10 feet tall.
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