Hi. Does anyone know how far apart liatris bulbs should be planted? Just bought some Spicata and Floristan Alba from Brent and Becky's. They're saying 5-6 bulbs per square foot. Since they should grow to about 14" wide, that doesn't make sense to me. Help!
Liatris Bulbs - Spacing
I bought Liatris about 3 years ago. I planted mine about 12" apart. Last year I did not get any blooms, but apparently the grassy foliage was there mixed in with the other (thickly crammed) plantings. THIS year, I have blooms. They are strictly vertical, and the 12" spacing is fine. They could be closer if you wanted to plant them, say 6 or 8", so that you don't see spaces in between. The grassy clump is not very wide at the base, on mine.
I think mine are either Kobold or Blazing Star. That is what I vaguely remember about the cultivar name.
They really like DRY HOT full sun exposure. This year, since they are now blooming, I have decided that they are one of my new favorites.
You can plant them as directed - they look good in a clump, but be sure to divide them after a couple of years, or the bulbs will fuse together into a giant melon-size very dense bulb, which will be very hard to divide, as I discovered when I left mine for several years without dividing.
I LOVE my Liatris! They multiply very well too!
Oh yes I'm loving mine too.
Pretty pics of your gayfeathers. I love my liatris, too.
I ordered 50 L. spicata bulbs from B and B this spring and I was surprised how large they were compared to the L. bulbs I find at Home Depot.
I planted the B and B bulbs in fairly rich soil and now I have very big plants and wish I had left a little more space between them.
I have several other kinds of Liatris too, and I find the butterflies just love them.
Thanks so much for your help! Tabasco, I completely agree: the B&B bulbs are huge compared to Home Depot. I just planted the ones from B&B a week ago, and they're coming up like crazy even though I planted them at the right depth! I also planted the tiny ones from Home Depot... and if they ever come up, it'll be a miracle! I ended up planting them farther apart than B&B recommended, because I'm interspersing them with Oriental lilies, and pink and white coneflowers.
Thanks, Perenniallyme (love the name!) for the advice about dividing them!
I got some liatris bulbs two years ago on clearance at Walmart and they have done great. I am planning on dividing this Fall so I can have more.
Wow! Very impressive! See, I think if they get plenty of space and lots of sun L. Spicata really will take off!
Mine are too cramped in the garden and don't grow as large as yours.
I am looking at buying some Liatris Ligustylus plants from Prairie Moon nursery (I was just notified that they are now in stock), but I don't know if I have a sunny enough spot for them. The monarch butterflies are supposed to love this particular variety although I always get a big variety of other butterflies on my L. spicatas.
Divide in the fall? I have never divided mine because I wasn't sure if they could be divided. This is great news!
Well it's probably a bit early, but I just dug up my never divided melon of a clump and pried it apart into about 3 dozen pieces. Some of the rhizomes are broken where they were pried apart. How deep should I replant them?
I would just replant to the same dirt line they were at when you dug them up.
I like these plants too. They build an impressive root system quickly in spring. I pot up spare bulbs in early spring, the roots fill the pots in a couple of weeks.
They are tough as nails. I forgot a bunch I pulled up in fall cleaning and tossed them in a pile. I found them in spring when they showed green. Didn't loose a one.
Six or 8 bulbs in a square foot works fine for quick color. Dead head them after blooming to prevent self seeding. Prune them down to leave a neat grassy mound.
A cluster of Floristan odds and ends, first season. With Dahlia Redskin.
Andy P
Oh...I need to get some of those!! Very pretty!
Love both the pics of the L. floristan and the spicata!
I just wanted to add that I bought several Liatris ligulistylis from dogwooderitternet on ebay and Prairie Moon nursery. I can confirm that this particular liatris (ligulistylus) is truly a monarch butterfly magnet:
I have just one Liatris Ligulistylus in bloom now along with many other butterfly nectar and host plants such as Tithonia, Tropical Milkweeds, Swamp Milkweed, Zinnias, Marigolds, Verbena Bonarienses, Dill, Coneflowers, and what do I see?? But NO monarchs on any of these garden flowers, but 3 Monarchs nectaring close together on the one spike of Ligulistylus!
Here is a link to the Prairie Moom ligulistylus page: http://www.prairiemoon.com/seeds/wildflowers-forbs/liatris-ligulistylis-meadow-blazing-star/
I did have 50 bulbs of the Liatris spicata bloom earlier this summer. In most years spicata are very popular with our swallowtails and some monarchs, but this summer was such a poor one for butterflies that we had few swallowtails visit the garden and these liatris were left alone. I do love them though.
Wait...that looks like what grows wild here... I think I will getting some seeds!
Am checking out that site for other things to maybe get. Thanks for posting the link!
Very interesting how the Monarchs flock to L.ligulistylus. I was thinking I had wintersown some of those, but I'm not sure now. I made the mistake of moving my containers from the deck to the ground, and slugs had a field day with my seedlings.
I have L.spicata and a white form from some box store, and the white one always flops. Its in a sunny bed where all sorts of other sun lovers are happy, but perhaps I need to move some of them to the blazing hot front yard. I'm wondering if Liatris can be pinched? It wouldn't appear to be the kind of plant that would branch after pinching, but I recall when I worked as a floral designer, getting what the wholesaler called "Spray Liatris". Each stem had several small lateral spikes with daintier stems of otherwise normal looking Liatris. They looked like they had been pinched to achieve that effect. I'd love to just pinch my white ones, as I really like where they are (or at least they would look really good standing up, LOL).
Nanny, snag some extra seed while you're at it :-)
I will try to get a pic and post here to see if it is the same and if if it is ..I sure will Neal! ;)
Awww shoot...not what I have! We have something that does look similair but has already bloomed & gone to seed. What is blooming now is wild Iron Weed. Which I have tried to grow a couple of times now with no luck!
Gemini, some of my Floristan flop. They are all the same from the same pack of seed many years ago. Some may be volunteers from before I started to deadhead.
I suspect (not sure) the floppers are hungry. Periodic lifting, dividing and replanting with lots of compost etc. helps.
Andy P
Gem, I read somewhere that Liatris will be floppy if the soil is too rich. (Some of mine are floppy too.)
I don't know of the florist liatris you described, but maybe it's Liatris microcephala. I tried to grow this one but it disappeared in the garden. I think the critters got it.
This year I grew some Ligulistylus from seed (wintersowing) and got minimal germination, so I ended up buying a few plants from my e-bay source, then later bought a flat of small plants from Prairie Moon. The ones I bought from 'dogwooderitternet' on e-bay were bigger plants and they are blooming now. My 'prairie moon' planting is being ravaged by my resident bunny family and that is making me cry.
By the way, I really recommend this e-bay fellow "dogwooderitternet" for purchase of hard to find perennials. His plants are small but well-grown and not expensive and he will reduce shipping costs quite a bit if you buy several items. He offers loads of hummingbird and butterfly plants, and others, too.
Here's his link: http://shop.ebay.com/dogwooderitternet/m.html
If anyone wants seeds from Ligulistylus I will try to collect some when they are ripe. Let me know your address by d-mail.
Wow! Those are some great prices! Thanks for the link!
Picture of my purple liatris
Very healthy looking liatris clump, Debs! I like them with daylilies, too.
Gem, I like Ritter because he stocks lots of the hummingbird and butterfly plants that are hard to find elsewhere. So I can get a Hummingbird garden going for not many $$. Of course, his plants are small, but healthy.
I've been exploring Penstemon species and hybrids a bit the last couple of years, and noticed he has an excellent selection of them, several I'm not familiar with. Small plants for a small price is ok by me- much better than an equally small plant from Wayside for $10, LOL.
Yes, thanks for the link tabasco! I occasionally check ebay for plants, but I don't remember running across him. Definitely great prices and a few plants I wouldn't mind having....