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An awesome and super easy-to-grow North American native perennial plant, Liatris scariosa, commonly know as Savanna Blazing Star, is the one for drier, rocky or sandy well-drained soils. If you're looking for the one that will tolerate more moist conditions that would be Liatris spicata.  Liatris scariosa features awesomely wild looking fluffy purple to rosy purple blooms that will have the late-season butterflies and hummingbirds flocking from around August to October. It's not uncommon to see 10 or more butterflies on a single plant! The plant sends up vertical maroon-tinted flower stems to about 3 to 5 feet tall rising up from basal tufts of narrow, ovate to lanceolate, green leaves up to 10 inches long. At the top of these stems are spikey inflorescences up to 18 inches tall bearing widely spaced value-type flowers each containing 35 or more disc florets with curly exerted styles that impart a very shaggy appearance. Fantastically showy, Savanna Blazing Star will be one of the coolest looking plants in the garden, and one that will always have you and the butterflies looking forward to late summer and fall.

Growing 3 to 5 feet tall in clumps 18 to 24 inches wide, Savanna Blazing Star is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces or grouped in larger garden borders. Its upright growth habit also serves well as a centerpiece or vertical accent in container gardens. A fine addition to cut flower gardens, hummingbird gardens, butterfly gardens, pollinator gardens, native gardens, cottage gardens, meadow gardens, wildflower gardens, purple theme gardens, rock gardens and the Xeriscape (low water needs).

Savanna Blazing Star is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average to low fertility and full to mostly sun for best flowering. Exceptionally drought tolerant when established and both heat and humidity tolerant. Handles cold temperatures down to -40F. Prefers a sandy to rocky soil so we advise amending heavy clay soils. Very low maintenance, plants can be cut back to just above the ground after going dormant in winter before the new growth begins to emerge in spring. 

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