While not overly common in the wild, Marsh Blazing Star has been a popular landscape perennial in both North America and Europe for years. Typically found in damp meadows and fens where the soil is neutral to slightly alkaline, marsh blazing star ranges across the Eastern United States from Illinois to Massachusetts south to Louisiana and Florida.
Marsh blazing star grows 2 to 4 feet tall, though it is usually at the lower end of that range. Bright purple flowers occur in long wands, opening from the top down - This is somewhat unusual for spike flowered plants (Think Delphiniums & Lupines)! It also grows from a corm, which is a bulb-like structure - This is also unusual because this is a plant from the Composites family, along with sunflowers and daisies, which don't usually grow from bulbs - An all-around unusual plant with a beautiful form!
Marsh blazing star is not picky about soil type or quality, growing as happily in mucky clay as it does in its preferred wet sandy soils. It offers pollen and nectar for pollinators, blooming in mid to late summer.
Marsh blazing star does get nibbled by rabbits and deer, but voles are especially problematic - A heavy vole population will quickly work through the sweet corms, decimating a planting.
| Common Name: | Marsh Blazing Star |
| Botanical Name: | Liatris spicata |
| Availability: | Not Available for 2022 |
