Liatris, also known as Blazing Star or Gayfeather, is a long blooming perennial providing a display from July into late autumn.
It’s a member of the aster family of plants, but instead of the familiar daisy like flowers in that family, Liatris has highly unusual flower heads.
The featured dense clusters tiny star like shaped flowers open in succession from the top of the spike.
The pure species has bright purple flower spikes, but there are also pink and white cultivars available.
Liatris is usually planted from corms in the Spring, spacing the corms 12-15in apart and 2-4in deep.
Choose a site with full sun to plant your corms, the more sun, the better they will perform.
They have very good tolerance to drought and dry soil conditions, just about any soil will successfully grow Liatris corms, although quick drainage is essential to prevent rot.
Liatris takes very little care, but you may need to stake up the stems, if planted in overly-rich soil, which can cause the plant to grow tall and floppy.
As a Liatris plant matures, it typically develops offset corms. Liatris is easy to propagate, by digging up the root corms and separating every few years helping rejuvenate the plants and extend the life of a clump.
Overwintering, simply cut off the flower stalks near ground level, or you can leave the flower heads in place for the benefit of winter feeding birds.
Liatris does not suffer from any serious insect problems; several fungal diseases can occur, including leaf spot, rust, stem rot, powdery mildew, and verticillium wilt.
The best approach is to prevent these diseases by giving the plants good sunlight and air circulation.
