prairie point

blazing star

I've been reading up on liatris. You may recall my mentioning that I brought home one of those from the native plant sale last week. I've never planted one of those before and I didn't know much about it. It's sometimes called gayfeather and sometimes blazing star and was apparently a common sight on the native prairie hereabouts around 150 years ago.

According to the book Pasture and Range Plants the roots of this plant can go down as much as 16 feet! Pretty impressive when you consider that the above-ground portion only gets to be 2 to 3 feet. It also mentions that the roots were eaten by Indians and the leaves were used as a medicine, but it doesn't say what ailment it treated.

Sally Wasowski lists numerous species native to Texas but says only a few them are good for "black gumbo" soil, which is what I have. The one I bought was not labeled but I am hoping that it does work in my soil. Most of the specimens at the plant sale were grown by members of the local plant society who generally live pretty near here.

This plant does not bloom until Fall and from what I read does not always bloom until its second or third year, so unless I am lucky enough to have one that is right for my soil I won't get to see it bloom. The kind of black clay soil I have does not drain well, so in the wet months of winter a lot of dry soil plants will just rot.

With a name like blazing star it's sure got me expecting a nice flower, so I hope I get to see it.

Posted by Bill Hopkins on May 21, 2003 06:01 PM