Gay feathers plant

Growing Guide

How to Grow Gayfeather an Easy to Grow Perennial

Gayfeather plants have immense ornamental value as easy-care, low-maintenance summer plants. Gayfeather (Liatris spicata) flowers bloom throughout the summer and may last until fall. The purple flower spikes look like wispy feathers on the end of pokers. Or, some say that flowers on a blazing star plant look like bottle brushes. Perennial Gayfeather flowers are members of the Aster family. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant.

Dense gayfeather

Blazing star (Liatris spicata) is a long-blooming, native wildflower. Learn how to grow this unusual perennial with this easy guide. Gayfeather Liatris spicata is a flowering perennial plant with tall spikes of showy purple or white flowers. Also called blazing star or prairie star, Liatris spicata grows in clumps and prefers moist, marshy ground.


How to Grow Gayfeather Flower Plants

Growing Guide

Propagating Gayfeather Plant To propagate the plant, place its seeds in the soil, and cover them with a thin layer of soil. You must keep the soil moist at all times for the best results. It’s essential to provide warmth, water, and sunlight for it to grow healthy plants. Provide maximum care for the plant when propagating it. Liatris is a genus in the aster family Asteraceae native to North America with at least 40 species and many cultivars available. They all consist of disc flowers without rays on a spike that blooms from the top down in pink, purple and white colors.

How to Grow and Care for Liatris (Blazing Star)

Blazing Stars Gay Feather Phonetic Spelling ly-AY-tris Description Liatris is a genus in the aster family (Asteraceae) native to North America with at least 40 species and many cultivars available. They all consist of disc flowers without rays on a spike that blooms from the top down in pink, purple and white colors. Some are showier than others. Pictured above: A Palamedes swallowtail nectars on Dense gayfeather Liatris spicata. Photo by Jeff Norcini.

gay feathers plant

How to Grow Gayfeather Flower Plants

Appreciated for its striking vertical flower spikes and fine-textured foliage, Gayfeather or Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) is a valuable perennial. Learn how to grow gayfeather, an easy to grow perennial that is sure to provide beauty while attracting those important pollinators. This post contains affiliate links, to learn more visit my About Me page.

How to Grow and Care for Gay feathers

Kobold Gayfeather, This more compact cultivar forms low grassy clumps which produce recurring spikes of showy pink blossoms. Naturally adapted to meadow gardens. .

Liatris spicata (Blazing Star)

Gay feathers usually require well-drained soil, fit for full-sun to partial shade environments, and moderate watering. To plant, prepare the site by loosening the soil and mixing in ample amounts of compost. .

Kobold Gayfeather, Liatris spicata 'Kobold', Monrovia Plant

The flower spikes can make the plant top-heavy, so plant with other tall species, such as grasses, goldenrods and sunflowers that can help support the plant and keep it upright. Dense gayfeather seeds may be available from the Florida Wildflower Cooperative. Plants are often available from nurseries that specialize in Florida native plants. .