Liatris spicata | Blazing Star

Gayfeather | Native Perennial Pollinator

Liatris spicata, also known as blazing star or gayfeather, is a long-blooming perennial wildflower native to eastern North America. Liatris has highly unusual flower heads featuring tiny and colorful star-like blossoms arranged around a long upright bottlebrush spire. The grasslike leaves are narrow and inconspicuous, forming a basal clump, but they turn an attractive bronze color in the fall.

Liatris is a valuable addition to the perennial garden as a vertical contrast to mounded or broad-leaved plants, and is also at home in the meadow, a native plant garden or naturalized areas.

These native perennials can and do make a statement. Blazing star species are butterfly magnets. When in bloom it’s not unusual to see clusters of monarchs jockeying for position on the purple flower spikes – which is why regionally native blazing star species have been included on nearly all of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation Monarch Nectar Guides.

USDA Zone 3 thru 8
Drought Tolerant
Long-Lasting Cut Flower
Light Requirement Full Sun
Season(s) of interest summer, fall, winter
Height and Spread 2-4 ft | 3/4 to 1.5 ft
Flower Color Purple-Pink
Attracts Wildlife Provides Food for Birds, Hosts Caterpillars of Butterflies/Moths, Attracts Pollinators,
Additional Information Native to Eastern North America
Great companion plant for lilies, rudbeckia, dahlias and asters