Grass-leaved Blazing Star

Liatris pilosa

Grass-leaved blazing star is the low-maintenance Liatris for dry, sandy soils. The grass-like leaves are narrow and fine-textured, forming a wispy basal clump before tall spikes of deep purple-pink buttons appear in late summer and fall. The flowers are dense and closely clustered along the upper third of each spike, drawing monarchs and swallowtails in numbers that make this one of the most effective butterfly plants in the fall garden. It's shorter and more compact than some other blazing stars, which makes it easier to fit into mixed borders and container plantings without staking. The dried stalks stand through winter, holding goldfinches who strip the seeds through January. An adaptable, high-value native for sandy or lean soils where other Liatris species underperform.