| Description | Marsh Blazing Star (Liatris spicata is a tall, hardy perennial wildflower that grows from a corm and forms clumps. It produces grass-like leaves and spikes of purple flowers that bloom from top to bottom. |
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| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Wild Flowers |
| Hardiness Zone | 3-8 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average to moist |
| Soil & Site | average to moist, naturally occurs in mesic to wet Prairies, must be well drained |
| Temperature | flower head having only fluffy disk flowers (resembling "blazing stars") and no ray flowers. |
| Flowers | spike, feathery flower heads made of fluffy disk flowers and no ray flowers |
| Leaves | linear sessile leaves, stem leaves decrease in size toward the top |
| Stems | stems are smooth and hairless, forms corms, can form a clump with multiple stems |
| Dimensions | 2-4 feet tall depending on growing conditions |
| Propagation | I haven't grown the straight L. spicata species, but I have grown and utilized the Liatris Kobold compact cultivar. We used to dig up and divide the corms, and I assume this applies to the straight species as well. Additionally, I have grown it from stratified seeds. |
| Native Site | Native to mesic to wet prairies in the eastern tall grass region |
| Notes & Reference | #56-Tall Grass Prairie Wildflowers (Doug Ladd), #100-Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest (Black and Judziewicz), #272-The Gardeners Guide to Prairie Plants (Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox) |
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