I've sure been enjoying Liatris ligulistylis, meadow blazingstar, this last week or two. I don't really see monarchs in significant numbers until it starts blooming. Native to the northern Great Plains and Midwest, it purportedly mimics the scent of monarch pheromones. All I know is the flower buds are pretty, the blooms are pretty, the seed heads will be pretty (if brief), and the winter stalks add stellar vertical interest as the snow flies. When our plants can celebrate all the dimensions of garden making -- from art to sensory stimulation to ecological importance -- they become elevated and deeply meaningful places to rediscover wildness.
Meadow blazingstar has a corm -- a bulb-like mass -- that transplants easily when the plant is dormant. I find it takes about 3 years to get a mature plant with many stalks, but after that it declines quickly and may last only 4-5 years in the landscape. I'd be interested to hear from those who have observed it in the wild and how it performs over time.
Meadow blazingstar has a corm -- a bulb-like mass -- that transplants easily when the plant is dormant. I find it takes about 3 years to get a mature plant with many stalks, but after that it declines quickly and may last only 4-5 years in the landscape. I'd be interested to hear from those who have observed it in the wild and how it performs over time.
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