prairie wildflower
Dense blazing star
Liatris spicata
Also known as Dense Gayfeather, Dense Liatris, Marsh Blazing Star, Marsh Gayfeather, Marsh Liatris
1 of 2Native to much of the USA
New Jersey to Michigan and Illinois, south to Florida and Louisiana; naturalized northeastward
- Light Full sun Sun tolerance
- Moisture Moist Moisture preference
- Zones 3–10 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Jul–Oct Flowering time
- Height up to 6 ft to 1.8 m
- Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial
In the garden
A prairie wildflower for full sun and evenly moist soil. Its purple flowers peak in July. At up to 6 ft, it needs room in meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 3–10.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
When it blooms
The Dense blazing star's purple flowers bloom July to October, peaking in July. This midsummer display draws bees and butterflies.
Dense blazing star blooms purpleFoliage
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +44 more
Two-spotted Bumble Bee, American Bumble Bee, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, European Woolcarder Bee, Black-and-gold Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Southern Carpenter Bee, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Northern Amber Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Sculptured Resin Bee, Poey's Furrow Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Spurred Ceratina, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble bee, broad-handed leafcutter bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, Pugnacious Leafcutter Bee, Western Bumble Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Dilemma Orchid Bee, Sanderson's Bumble Bee, Silver-tailed Petalcutter, Ceratina mikmaqi, Florida Rotund-Resin Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Megachile pugnata pugnata, Xylocopa virginica virginica, Coelioxys octodentata, Common Carder Bumble Bee - Butterflies Monarch
also Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Red Admiral +47 more
Black Swallowtail, Common Buckeye, Fiery Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, Painted Lady, Pipevine Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Spicebush Swallowtail, Common Checkered-Skipper and Allies, Viceroy, Zabulon Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Eastern Black Swallowtail, Peck's Skipper, Horace's Duskywing, Common Wood-Nymph, Dun Skipper, Long-tailed Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Tawny-edged Skipper, Palamedes Swallowtail, Milbert's Tortoiseshell, Little Glassywing, Broad-winged Skipper, Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail, Hoary Edge, Southern Cloudywing, Twin-spot Skipper, Three-spotted Skipper, Zarucco Duskywing, Berry's Skipper, Indian Cabbage White, Panoquina ocola, Wallengrenia otho, Asian Green-veined White, Epargyreus clarus clarus, Byssus Skipper, Euphyes pilatka, Papilio cresphontes, Wallengrenia egeremet, Protographium marcellus, Common Brimstone - Moths Snowberry Clearwing
also Virginia Ctenucha Moth, Hummingbird Clearwing, Curved-toothed Geometer Moth +6 more
Polka-Dot Wasp Moth, Three-lined Flower Moth, Yellow-banded Wasp Moth, Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Common Looper Moth, Bicolored Pyrausta Moth and Allies - Also visited by
- Flower flies:
Eastern Calligrapher, Common Drone Fly +7 more
Eurasian Drone Fly, Eastern Hornet Fly, Orange-legged Drone Fly, Eastern Band-winged Hover Fly, Common Flower Fly, Platycheirus scutatus, Heineken Fly - Wasps:
Fraternal Potter Wasp, Euodynerus hidalgo boreoorientalis +1 more
Hidalgo Mason Wasp - Beetles:
Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Goldenrod Soldier Beetle +1 more
Eye-spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle - Hummingbirds: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Flower flies:
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- American ladynectar
- Black swallowtailnectar
- Clouded sulphurnectar
- Cloudless sulphurnectar
- Common buckeyenectar
- Common wood-nymphnectar
- Eastern tailed-bluenectar
- Eastern tiger swallowtailnectar
- Fiery skippernectar
- Giant swallowtailnectar
- Gray hairstreaknectar
- Great spangled fritillarynectar
- Gulf fritillarynectar
- Milbert's tortoiseshellnectar
- Monarch butterflynectar
- Painted ladynectar
- Palamedes swallowtailnectar
- Pipevine swallowtailnectar
- Red admiralnectar
- Silver-spotted skippernectar
- Spicebush swallowtailnectar
- Variegated fritillarynectar
- Viceroynectar
- Zebra swallowtailnectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- Much of the USAUnited States (23): AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, WV. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- New Jersey to Michigan and Illinois, south to Florida and Louisiana; naturalized northeastwardThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
- Moisture
- MoistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 3–10 · Canadian 4–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Moist, average soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil texture
- Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
- Soil pH
- 5.6–7.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
- Soil quality
- LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
- Water use
- MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
- Salinity tolerance
- LowHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 6 ft (to 1.8 m)Typical mature height.
- Spread
- ~1 ft (0.3 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
- Life cycle
- PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
- Growth rate
- SlowA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
- Shape
- ErectIts overall silhouette.
- Root depth
- 14+ in (36+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Jul–OctWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- PurpleThe bloom color, or colors.
- Fruit/Seeds
- Achene; ripens Jul–NovThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.
Propagation & seed
- Cold stratification
- Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
- Propagation
- Container, corm, seedHow to start new plants.
- Seed
- ~0.1 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
- Seed spread rate
- SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
- Seedling vigor
- LowHow strongly young seedlings establish.
- Vegetative spread
- SlowWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.