MEADOW BLAZING STAR (Butterfly Magnet!) Liatris ligulistylis
Plant this and the monarchs will come! These flowers are extremely popular with monarch butterflies, and it is also host for the bleeding flower moth.
There are 4–21 flowers arranged on the upper part of the stem, with rounded pinkish purple flower heads. Each flower head has 30-100 five-lobed, tubular flowers surrounded by spoon-shaped bracts. Each flower has a long, thread-like, divided style protruding from the center.
An extremely popular perennial plant in North American gardens, reaching 5' tall! These pants are easy to grow, are very cold hardy, and are drought tolerant once established.
Type: Hardy perennial
Height: 4-5 feet
Location: Sun or part sun
Hardiness zones: 3-7
Seeds per pack: 5
Germination: As with many perennial seeds, these seeds benefit from a period of moist cold to help them begin to grow. This is done by giving them a cold 'winter' period (artificial or natural), and then a warming to simulate 'spring', and time to grow! Here's how this can be done:
Obtain a planting container that has holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Place the seeds just under the surface of your growing medium, and water. Place your container at room temperature for 2 weeks (they will not grow yet), and then place them in a clear plastic bag (to retain moisture), and in a refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. Once the cold period is completed, place the container back at room temperature for them to germinate. Be sure to keep the soil moist during this entire germination period. Seedlings will sprout a few weeks, or occasionally several months, after the warming period. They require some patience, but are well worth the effort!
