I do have a small clump of these. They are not the showiest but they are solid, and the hummingbirds really love it.

It's not gonna get much love from me!! I just do not care for this plant - not enough bang for the buck, IMO :-)

And none are native to my area at all, although just being a native species does not automatically mean it is a garden worthy plant in the first place.

I love them but they don't seem to love me! I've tried them a few times without much luck. But I planted another round two years ago, and this batch has done better. We'll see if they come back this year again.

:)
Dee

Well, that was a pretty rude and uncalled for comment, Jay!! You have no idea what plants I may include in my clients' designs. I design using the plants they want included for the most part and what that might be has no financial impact for me at all. And yes, scores of prairie plants grow perfectly well here also.

I do limit what natives I include as many PNW natives have very specialized growing conditions, some are just butt ugly most of the time or have rampant growth habits not suited to a cultivated suburban garden or simply do not like cultivated conditions.

Feel free to do what you want in your garden but please refrain from passing judgment on others who make different choices.

Not a favorite of mine either, they’re just OK. I think you could find another plant that would give you much more pleasure.

i once pulled a piece of such out of the side of the river bank on a canoe trip ... there was acres of it.. so i didnt think i was robbing ma nature .. and no one.. with a straight face could claim it was rare .. lol ...

only later to find out.. its was an invasive choking the rivers of MI ...

ever since then.. i have no love for the plant .. in any shape or form ... it just ruined it for the whole family of that plant ...

too bad the butterfly pic doesnt expand anymore ...

there are a couple pics of multiple worms with wings on L .... if you scroll down this link: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=butterfly+on+liatris&t=ffnt&iax=images&ia=images

do i have to send you two for a time out ..???

ken

I like them especially L. 'Floristan White'. They are certainly butterfly and bee magnets. I find them best tucked among other plants since the foliage is not the best once flowering is done.

Lol Ken, that Lythrum salicaria was an unfortunate foray into native plants.

I love mine. They’ve been happy in my heavy clay, which gets waterlogged at times and bone dry at times. They reproduced quite happily and are a cheery flower that is a different texture in my garden than most of my plants.

I have struggled to keep my Liatris ligulistylis (not spicata) alive only because I need to put them in better and moister soil. A couple have survived in the tired out "dirt" they're in now, and they don't like it when we're dry. I meant to wintersow more this year, but was too late in ordering seeds. I'll wintersow them this coming year and put them in better soil with lots of compost and peat. If my Asclepias incarnate can do well in that better soil, I think the Liatris will, too.

CORRECTION: I have Liatris ligulistylis, not L spicata. Brain fart. Have corrected above. L Ligulisytlis likes moist soil.

I loved mine. But so did deer. They won.

I grow L. muncronata and I do like them because they deal with my dry calcarious soil without any attention. I do not ask for constant bang out of my garden. It is a dry native scape. I spread the seed around the land.

You can add me to the list of the not-so-fond. L. spicata just doesn't seem to flower long for me and I get annoyed that the spires start flowering from the top and then work their way down. It's probably a petty thing but when I look the first thing I see are the browned tips.

But I am trying to get a few L. ligulistylis up to flowering size. They're too far into a perennial bed and get buried each summer but maybe someday they'll rise above the fracas.

The photo with all the Monarchs on it is L. ligulistylis and it's supposed to be "the ultimate butterfly magnet" according to Prairie Moon Nursery. I'll put up with a few browned blooms if it means swarms of Monarchs :)

Love them, my husband has asked for more.. I have three and the one which has done the best is the one at the base of the downspout. They are spicata, variety “Kobold” and the bees and butterflies love them too.

Another vote in favor of. My plants are in their prime the first half of July, and they are loved by pollinators (which carries extra weight for me). I have 3 plants all purchased (on separate occasions) as Kobold. In the photo I'm assuming the middle and right clumps are the true Kobold, and the left clump that grows a bit taller may be a Kobold seedling (?) I prune the flower stalks off when they're done. Photo taken 7/12/20.

I love how they look with echinaceas, but as others have said, the bloom period is relatively short. They do very well in my garden, but I might remove some to make place for other, longer blooming plants.

I love mine! I have a native to this area, eastern blazing star. The pollinators love it too. Unfortunately last year, I pulled up a little clump of them, thinking they were weeds! I have more, but I was really exasperated with myself. They are very hands off and tough here, even in clay with high humidity, heat and dry spells as well as wet springs.

Corrected my post above, as I have L ligulistylis, not L spicata. I actually am not fond of the "looks" of the garden variety L spicata, for some reason. Only reason I decided to grow L ligulistylis was the pollinator benefit. Couldn't get seeds in time this year, but next year I hope to wintersow more L ligulistylis for a pollinator bed and improve the moisture retention of the soil so they thrive better.

I am confused.........what did Jay say that made gardengal so upset???? What did I miss???

I don’t see any rude content........hmmmmmmm

debra

Sorry, I should have deleted my comment after Jay's offensive one was deleted. Unfortunately it's too late now :-(

The gist was that I dissed native plants because I wanted to zing my design customers for more expensive, non-native plantings. Absolute nonsense!!

Hey guys and gals this is my thread and you have decimated it.

You are each important members of this forum and I am sure I speak for others with the hope that at the least you can reach a 'truce', most preferably discussed and arrived at, outside of someone else's thread, and so be able to continue to contribute to all of our benefit, to this PERENNIALS forum.

I like Liatris, I think if you have enough room to accommodate short flowering plants, it's a good one. If you go for a crowded type planting where the flowers emerge from lower vegetation, and you stick to the "have 3 things in flower at any given time" idea, it can work. I started 'Goblin' aka 'Kobold' from seed last year, and I also grow Liatris scariosa, and Liatris scariosa var nieuwlandii, and I started the wild type Iiatris spicata from seed this year. It depends on the design and the context of where you plant it, it won't work for everyone everywhere but I think it's an interesting plant.

A vote for Liatris ligulistylis just because of the monarchs it attracts. When mine bloom in August there are almost always monarchs fluttering around the yard and I just love it. Plants themselves are a little on the homely side, I have to admit!

ruth, what have you noticed about their soil needs with regard to moisture? Are they moisture hungry?