My Deer Garden

Plant record · Perennial

Is Dense Blazing Star deer resistant?

Liatris spicata

Dense Blazing Star
Damage step 2 of 4 · Seldom Severely Damaged

Mostly. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.

Type
Perennial
Hardiness
Zones 3–8
Light
Full sun
Height
72–72 in
Bloom
Summer and Fall
Maintenance
Moderate
Native range
26 US states

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Dense Blazing Star

A plant of moist wood openings, mesic prairie and marsh edges, which is not what most people expect of a blazing star. Rose-purple spikes to head height, opening from the top down. Deer largely ignore it.

Handed the sharp drainage and hard baking that suits the western gayfeathers it thins, flowers shorter every year and is gone in two or three seasons. It wants moist average soil, water through summer, and ground that leans acid. Planting it as a xeric perennial and then walking away is the commonest way to lose it.

At the top of its range, five or six feet, the stems go over, and a staked Liatris looks like exactly what it is. Set six or eight together so they hold each other up, and leave the spent spikes standing into winter.

Similar to Dense Blazing Star

Other perennials with the same deer rating.

Where Dense Blazing Star grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone, and native to 26 of them. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — native, and hardy. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — not hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — native, and hardy. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Native and hardyHardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Dense Blazing Star

Is Dense Blazing Star deer resistant?
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged, step 2 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
What hardiness zones does Dense Blazing Star grow in?
Dense Blazing Star is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Dense Blazing Star grow in shade?
No. Dense Blazing Star wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
How big does Dense Blazing Star get?
Mature height is roughly 72–72 in. Growth rate is moderate.

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Every list Dense Blazing Star belongs to.

All perennials·Seldom damaged·Full sun plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .