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Blazing Star
Seed Packet

Blazing Star

Liatris spicata
Blazing star or Gayfeather is native to Midwestern and Eastern moist meadows. Indigenous peoples sought this flower for the edible corms, its medicinal qualities, and ceremonial use as a symbol of courage and strength. Butterflies and bees will delight in the purple bottlebrush flower spikes that supply a continuous offering of pollen and nectar, for they bloom in succession from the tips of the tall spikes to the bottom. The narrow strap leaves admirably serve in a supporting role to the vivid summer blooming flowers.
SKU #S1310
$3.50
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Details
Approximate Seeds Per Packet
107
Lifecycle
Perennial
Perennial Hardiness Zone
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9
Mature Size
2-4' h x 1-1.5' w
Sun
Full sun
Soil
Regular, moist, well-drained
Season
Summer to fall
Color
Spikes of lavender purple
Features
Great Cut Flower
Deer Resistant
Heat or Drought Tolerant
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Bees
Attracts Hummingbirds
Attracts Beneficial Insects
SOWING INSTRUCTIONS
Depth:
1/8"
Sprout Time:
Erratic
Starting Indoors:
Stratify for 30-60 days. Sow in a container, cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate, or mix seed with damp clean sand or vermiculite, bag, and refrigerate at 35-40F. Check often for germination and maintain a lightly moist medium. Transplant any seedlings as they germinate. After the chill period, sow into soilless media and keep at 65-70F.
Starting Outdoors:
Direct sow in earliest spring or fall into a finely-prepared nursery bed, transplanting the following year. Or wintersow into pots in the shade, covered with a thin layer of clean sand and a wire screen to keep out mice and voles. Check for moisture at regular intervals.
WHEN TO SET OUTSIDE
In spring
PLACEMENT & CULTIVATION
The native blazing star attracts bees, butterflies, beneficial insects, and birds to your garden, while supplying nest sites for native bees. Gayfeather germinates erratically, making it a candidate for winter sowing when moist stratification can occur over time with little input. Like many perennials, they take several years to mature and flower abundantly. To promote rebloom, cut back by one-half after flowering. Knobby corms develop, and offsets can be separated to create showy stands of flowers in rain gardens and meadow plantings.
Final Spacing:
1.5'
Water Requirements:
Medium Water Use
Watering Details:
Keep evenly moist until well-established. Moderately drought tolerant, water during extended dry periods and provide excellent winter drainage.
Soil pH:
Most pH levels are tolerated.
Fertilizer:
Apply a thin layer of compost when transplanting and yearly thereafter in early spring—excessive fertilizing will cause flower stems to bend, requiring support.
Diseases & Pests:
Occasionally susceptible to rust; prevent with proper spacing and also by preventively spraying with an organic fungicide every two weeks or so, depending on local weather conditions. Planting in a location that gets good air circulation is also helpful.
When to Cut for Bouquets:
Harvest when half of the florets have opened.