Description

Key Information:

Soil: (Xeric) Dry. Drought tolerant.
Sun: Full Sun – Part Sun
Height: 8″-24″
Bloom Color: Purple
Bloom Season: August – September

More Details

Suggested Uses: Dwarf Blazing Star is one of the shorter blazing stars and does well on dry, sandy and gravelly soils. It is a nice addition to a rock garden. It can be found in upland prairies and open oak savannas. It is a great plant for attracting birds and butterflies. Deer and rabbits will eat this plant. Does not grow well with lots of competition.

Native Range: Native to the Upper Midwest and Ontario. In Minnesota, L. cylindacea is most common on bluff prairies in the Southeastern part of the state.

Pollinators: Bees, butterflies and moths. An excellent pollinator plant. It provides a very important nectar source for monarchs and many other species of butterflies as well as the federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis).  A great plant for attracting birds to your garden too.

Flowers: Dwarf Blazing Star has fewer flowers per plant than many other Liatris species.  They are made up of 20-50 tiny flowers. These flowers extend from the stem on petioles (leaf stems).

Leaves: Linear, very narrow and up to 9″ long. Stems and leaves are generally hairless.

Other Names: Ontario Blazing Star, Cylindrical Blazing Star.

More information: USDA plant profile