- Carithers Flowers Main Website- Wikipedia: Liatris

Liatris

Native to North America

Bearing the wonderful names, Blazing Star, Snake Root, or Grayfeather, Liatris is a showy, spiked plant that grows up to five feet tall. A genus of the Asteraceae family, Liatris is native to North America, Mexico, and the Bahamas. These are popular flowers for bouquets, and the blooms draw butterflies and hummingbirds that feed on the plants. Liatris is a perennial that grows well in containers, borders, and beds. The dramatic blooms make quite a statement in the garden. Its tall spikes make for great border plants, or they can be used to define a section for your garden for added depth to your landscape design. Blooms start in summer and continue into fall for a long blooming season.

Liatris have something called a corm rather than a bulb. Sometimes confused with bulbs, corms actually have an internal structure that is solid and fleshy. The plant blooms from the top down. This allows you to trim the parts that might become dried out or droopy but the spike will continue to show its bright colors.

Growing Recommendations - Liatris

Liatris is extremely hardy and loves the hot sun. If you have a dry climate, this is the plant for you. This plant loves soil that is well-drained. Avoid clay soil because Liatris can rot within this type of soil. Once established, you can pretty much just let it go. Water it regularly until is it established. Although it can be planted from seed, most Liatris plants are propagated from the fleshy corms. Plant the tubers about two inches deep and about eight inches apart for the best results. Liatris is drought-tolerant. Once established, only water Liatris when the soil is dry down to two inches. You may mulch it if you like and add a general fertilizer once the blooming period ends. Other than that, Liatris is almost completely maintenance-free. The tubers can be dug up and divided after a few years to provide even more of these bright and colorful flowers.

Photos of Liatris

Return to Listings