Gay Feather, Dense Blazing Star 'Floristan White'

Planted a nursery grown plant this spring. Plant grew well, standing about 2 feet tall. The lone flower spike never did flower like I exp...Read Moreected it to. We did have an extremely hot and dry June which might have affected flower production. I will give this plant one more season to show me its potential.

Grown from seed that was winter sown, 'Floristan White' is a nice vertical accent in my Southeastern Zone 8 garden. Although the plant i...Read Mores tall, no staking is needed to keep it upright. Fringe-like foliage is also very attractive.

I've grown these for many years and like them.
They are taller than Kobold, 30 - 40 inches.
They bloom from the top downw...Read Moreard.
They will re-seed themselves if not dead headed. These seedlings may revert to the shorter purple ones, once and a while.
They attract butterflies and are a nice cut flower.
They need full sun and well drained soil, easy to divide in very early spring.
Can be very thirsty when grown on pots (not recommended).
An extra dose of compost when planting, will help a lot.
Andy P

My experience with floristan white is that it is not quite as hardy as it's cousin 'Kobold." I first tried growing the FW from seed in 2...Read More003, which failed miserably as just as the seedlings were being adjusted to outside conditions prior to planting, Mother Nature decided to let loose with several days of deluge, which killed all the liatris I'd grown from seed.

I purchased several small plants in 2004 and transplanted to a newly made tier where they gave a respectable showing in summer, however, this year again we had a somewhat damp and cool summer. The kobold did not appear affected, however the FW did not reach the size nor appearance that I expected. I'm hoping for an 'average' summer to see how it performs. I've had cuttings to dry from other friend's gardens that were spectacular.