Dwarf Blazing Star
Liatris microcephala
A compact blazing star for rock gardens and border fronts. Slender rose-purple spikes in late summer feed migrating monarchs in thin, dry soil.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The front-of-border blazing star. compact enough for rock gardens and border edges, with the same monarch and butterfly attraction as its taller relatives.
Dwarf Blazing Star is the compact, rock-garden Liatris, native to the rocky cedar barrens and outcrops of the southern Appalachians, where it has adapted to grow in the thinnest, driest soils imaginable. The slender spikes carry small but numerous rose-purple flower heads in late summer, and despite the 'dwarf' designation, a well-established clump is genuinely showy. Monarchs and fritillaries use it readily during migration. Its compact stature makes it uniquely useful at the front of a border or tucked into a rock garden where the larger Liatris species would overwhelm the space. It naturalizes slowly but surely in well-drained sunny sites, gradually forming the small colonies that typify it in the wild. An underappreciated Appalachian native that earns a place in any dry, sunny garden.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown dwarf blazing star propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry
- Mature size
- 1–1.7 ft · 10–15 in wide
- Bloom time
- August–September
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native range
- Southeastern North America. rocky outcrops, cedar barrens, and open woods primarily in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama
Care notes for dwarf blazing star.
Plant in full sun in dry to average, well-drained to rocky soil. Like its rocky-outcrop origins suggest, Dwarf Blazing Star demands excellent drainage above all else. Avoid clay and consistently wet sites. Establish it and then leave it alone. it resents disturbance once settled. Leave seed heads for birds. Cut back in early spring before new growth emerges.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside dwarf blazing star.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
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Shade Bed Package
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Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.