Meadow Blazing Star

Liatris ligulistylis

Origin: Central United States and central Canada 

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: ~50

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

Also called Rocky Mountain blazing star, this species is a perennial wildflower native to the central US and Canada with beautiful purple blossoms which appear in August and September. They are a veritable magnet for monarch butterflies, who lap up the sweet nectar (monarchs lay their eggs only on milkweeds, because their larvae require it, but the adults rely on lots of other plants as food sources). Hummingbirds love it too. Plants can reach five feet tall and two feet wide.

Our seed comes from our friend and collaborator Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nursery in Falmouth, Maine.

GROWING TIPS: Prefers medium to dry soil, and full to part sun. Seeds should be cold stratified for 60 days or sown outdoors in fall or early winter.