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Flower Index Index by Family Set 1 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6

Liatris pycnostachya | Prairie Blazing Star Liatris | Kansas Gayfeather

Pronounced Li-a-tris (long 'i') pic-no-stach-ya

The family is Asteraceae (Daisy and Sunflower Family) (Pronounced ass-ter-AY-see-eye )

The only date I have marked for first bloom is July 18, 2017. I always failed to mark first dates of bloom the further into the summer season. The bloomed this year on July 15, 2023. I found a quick snippet of the base of the plant in the 2017 video at 20:38 seconds. This may be the plant in the July 2011 video at 5:53 seconds (first garden video on YouTube!), but it is shorter and in the front bed, so we would have moved it at sometime.

I no longer have this plant as of July 2023. I have had this Liatris perennial for a long time (at least before 2017 and probably could trace it much further back) and in July 2023, I decided to finally take it out. It has been hardy and a faithful bloomer, but it is not right for my garden. It takes up a lot of soil space at the base and always gets to be about 5 to 6 feet tall. The tall stems (aka terminal spikes) end up flopping over and sprawling out everywhere. I think a good nickname is Floppy Liatris. I have tried to embrace the randomness of where they fall and enjoy them as they choose to go. I have on a few years also tried staking them up and I do not like how they look tied up. They seem to be a plant that is meant to be free as the name 'prairie" suggests. I understand there are shorter Liatris plants and I want to see if I can find the shortest version to add back into my garden.

As a Missouri native perennial, I wanted to love this plant, but not every plant is right for every garden. I had it planted on the top raised bed which made it even taller. I thought about moving it, but still the way it sprawled out taking up precious space caused me to give up on it.

This Liatris pycnostachya has a common name to be 'Kansas Gayfeather' rather than just 'Gay Feather.' It is part of the aster family (Asteraceae) but does not have a daisy-like flower. My written journal notes also have a common name of 'button snakeroot.'

There is a Liatris spicata which is very similar but is commonly called Dense Blazing Star and is more commonly grown. Some cultivar names of Liatris spicata are 'Alba,' 'Callilepsis,' 'Kobold,' Floristan White,' and 'September Glory.' I am thinking these are probably too tall for me as well.

There is also a Liatris aspera which is commonly known as "Rough Blazing Star" and gets to be about 1 to 3 ½ foot, which might be a shorter option.

There is also a Liatris cylindracea (Dwarf Blazing Star) which seems to be the shortest version at 1 ½ to 2 feet tall and might be the one I need to look for purchasing.

I saved the tag when it was purchased after all these years!