Liatris pycnostachya Prairie Blazingstar Kansas Gayfeather 
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Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather Photo by cj 

       For other flowers visit the wildflower seed list , to order copy the orderform or 
email questions, comments, and orders to john@easywildflowers.com  

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather large potted plants are available, $4 each plus UPS shipping.  Please contact us by email with your address for the correct shipping cost on potted plants.

Shipping chart at bottom of page
Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather, or Button Snakeroot, grows 3 to 5 feet tall spikes of dense violet-lavender to rosy purple flower heads, which provide striking vertical form in the perennial garden.   Prairie Blazingstar is easily grown in average well-drained soils and full sun yet also tolerates poor soils, drought, and summer heat.  This plant looks well if planted in large sweeps in the meadow garden or individually in a formal garden.  The showy flower is used in both fresh cut and dried flower arrangements and is a magnet for butterflies. The attributes of this plant are accentuated when planted with Callirhoe (Poppy Mallow), Echinacea (Coneflowers), Zizia (Golden Alexander), Solidago (Golden Rod), and prairie grasses.

(Pycnostachya = Dense, crowded spike)

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather seed germination is improved after a pretreatment of 4 to 6 weeks of cold moist stratification or when planted outside in the fall or early winter.

Native Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather is a striking plant occurring naturally on glades, bald knobs, meadows, dry upland prairies, and savannas from Ontario to Wisconsin and North Dakota, south to Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. . Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Uses

Prairie blazing star can be used for prairie restoration and landscaping, roadside plantings, wildlife food and habitat, wildflower gardens (because of its attractive flowers), and as a small component in seeding mixtures.

 Description

Prairie blazing star is a hardy, native perennial herb that grows from a tuber.  It is one of the most conspicuous of the prairie inhabitants, as its leafy stems grow erect to a height of 5 feet.  The narrow leaves on the lower two-thirds of the plant are so crowded that to the casual observer they may appear spiraled rather than closely alternate.  Lower leaves, up to 4 inches long and ½ inch wide, are larger than those further up the stems.  Both the leaves and stems usually display short, stiff hairs.

 
The top two-thirds of prairie blazing star is a spike of rose-purple, thistle-like flowers that are given a somewhat fuzzy appearance by extended white stamens (male flower parts) and pistils (female flower parts).  Flowering starts at the top of the spike and moves progressively downward.  Each flower head along the spike is made up of 5 to 12 tubular florets.  A dense circle of bracts (tiny, modified leaves) surrounds the base of each flower head.  The tips of these long, pointed bracts tend to spread and curve back toward their bases.  Bracts of this species may have a purplish tinge.

 All Liatris produce flowers in wand-like spikes or racemes.  Their flowers are produced in late summer and autumn.  They multiply by offsets from their cormlike base, or may be grown from seed, which should be sown in autumn.  They will grow and produce flowers in poorer soil than most garden plants, but thrive best in good, rich garden soil, and require no special care.  Liatris pycnostachya is one of the showiest species.  The slender seeds of Liatris are usually less than 1/4 inch long.  The seed narrows toward the base and is tipped with a set of soft bristles about as long as the seed itself.  There are 10 ribs or ridges running along the length of the seed.  Prairie blazing star seeds per pound average 131,000. 

Adaptation and Distribution

Prairie blazing star is found throughout the tall grass prairie biome, often in thick stands on damp prairies and open bottomlands from Minnesota and Wisconsin south.

 Establishment

Prepare a clean weed free seedbed by disking and harrowing or using chemical weed control.  Firm the seedbed by cultipacking.  Seedbed should be firm enough to allow seed to be planted ¼ inch deep.  For prairie restoration or diverse plantings for wildlife, prairie blazing star can be incorporated into seed mixes at a rate of 4 ounces pure live seed/acre.  Use unstratified seed in fall and stratified seed in the spring.  A seeder with a legume box works well in the seeding operation, although other types of seeders or drills maybe used.  Apply no fertilizer the establishment year unless a soil test indicates a severe deficiency of phosphorus and potassium.  Use no nitrogen during the establishment year as this can encourage weed competition.

Liatris pycnostachya Prairie Blazing Star seedling vigor is good and stands are comparatively easy to establish where competition is controlled.

 Management

During establishment, reduce weed competition by mowing above the height of the prairie blazing star or using approved herbicides.  In established stands, prescribed burning may be appropriate where plant vigor declines or where invader species threaten native mix stands.

 Environmental Concerns

Prairie blazing star is not considered weedy or invasive and has not been noted spreading to adjoining areas.  Seedlings have not been noted spreading from original plantings or if they do spread, the rate of spread is not alarming.

The map below shows areas where native Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather grow wild but it can be planted and will grow over a much wider area than shown.  USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 9.

Use the chart below for shipping charges on Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather flower seeds, to order copy the order form or email questions, comments & orders to john@easywildflowers.com 

Please contact us by email with your address for shipping charges & availability on potted plants

We accept payment by check, money order, and through Paypal

The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

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Easyliving Wildflowers
PO Box  522
Willow Springs,  Mo.  65793
phone-fax 417-469-2611 
john@easywildflowers.com 

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star, Kansas Gayfeather  Plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.