bulb

Blazing star

Liatris spicata

Climate-suitable non-native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 42°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -35°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

4/5

Mature size

0.8–1.2 m tall, 0.4 m spread

Seasonal interest

Midsummer · Magenta

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Corms rot in waterlogged winter soil.

Toxicity: none

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name: Liatris spicata (L.) Willd.
Family: Asteraceae (Asterales)
Rank and status: species · accepted
GBIF record: Taxon 3104314

Recorded native range: Alabama, Arkansas, Caucasus, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and 18 further regions

Recorded as introduced in: Belgium, Channel Is., Flemish Region, France, Gruziya, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Walloon Region

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star, prairie feather, gayfeather or button snakewort, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America where it grows in moist prairies and meadows. The plants have tall spikes of purple flowers resembling bottle brushes or feathers that grow 1–5 ft (0.30–1.52 m) tall. The species grows in hardiness zones 3–8, stretching from the Midwest to the East Coast, eastern and western Canada.

Description from Wikipedia — Liatris spicata (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

United Kingdom: climate-suitable
United States: native
Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where to buy

Real retailers serving UK. Garden Forward publishes no prices of its own — each link opens the retailer's own search results, where their current price and stock are shown.

Search Sarah Raven for Liatris spicata
Perennials, bulbs and seed, delivered across the UK.
Search Farmer Gracy for Liatris spicata
Bulbs and perennials shipped direct from Dutch growers.
Search Ashridge Nurseries for Liatris spicata
Bare-root trees, hedging and fruit in the dormant season.
Search Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants for Liatris spicata
Specialist hardy perennial nursery.
Search Marshalls Garden for Liatris spicata
Fruit, vegetable plants and seed.

No affiliate relationship is in place with these retailers, so nothing here earns Garden Forward a commission. Search links checked 2026-09-17. Availability of a species is never a reason it is recommended.

Companion palettes

Not currently in a sample palette.

Climate-resilient alternatives

Data sources

Taxonomy and native range: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Species description: Wikipedia — Liatris spicata
Photograph: H. Zell · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Growing guidance: Practitioner horticultural estimates pending expert review

Botanical record checked 2026-09-17 · growing guidance last reviewed 2026-06-01 · confidence high

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.