Floristan White is a white form of our native blazing star. Its tall wands of creamy white flowers open from the top down, a habit unique to liatris, and make a strong vertical accent in the garden.
Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall with grassy leaves up to 10 inches long at the base. It is a staple of cutting gardens, adding bright, upright lines to bouquets, and it dries well. Bees and butterflies flock to it, and deer seldom do serious damage.
What it looks like
Tall, dense, bottlebrush-like spikes of small, fuzzy, creamy white florets that open from the top of the spike downward. Several spikes rise from each clump on straight, upright stems. Leaves are narrow and grass-like, up to 10 inches long at the base and shortening up the stem, in mid-green. The plant forms an upright clump about 36 to 48 inches tall and 16 to 20 inches wide. At peak the clump is a cluster of fluffy white wands.
Growing it with lavender
Blazing star enjoys the same sun and well-drained soil as lavender, and its upright wands echo lavender's spiky form while adding height behind it and feeding the same bees and butterflies in midsummer.
Care
Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil; it tolerates poor soil and some drought once settled, but the corms can rot in wet winter ground. Hardy in zones 3-9. Cut stems for bouquets as the top florets open, and leave spent spikes standing for seed-eating birds or cut them back in fall.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Liatris spicata
-
Flower color: Creamy white
-
Foliage: Mid-green
-
Growth habit: Upright clump
-
Mature size: 36 in–4 ft tall × 16–20 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
-
Light: full sun
-
Bloom start: Early-July
-
Peak bloom: Mid-July
-
Bloom pattern: Single Flush
-
Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
-
Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
