Is Dense Blazing Star deer resistant?
Liatris spicata
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
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. Drought is what finishes it, not wet. 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.
- African LilyAgapanthus sp.Zones 8–11, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AsparagusAsparagus officinalisZones 2–9Seldom damaged
- AsterAster sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AstilbeAstilbe x arendsiiZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- Baby's BreathGypsophila sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- BastardsageEriogonum wrightiiZones 5–10Seldom damaged
Where Dense Blazing Star grows
Hardy across most of these 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvanianative
- New Jerseynative
- New Yorknative
- Connecticutnative
- Massachusettsnative
- Virginianative
- Marylandnative
- Michigannative
- Wisconsinnative
- Ohionative
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesota
- Missourinative
- North Carolinanative
- Tennesseenative
- Georgianative
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delawarenative
- West Virginianative
- Kentuckynative
- South Carolinanative
- Floridanative
- Alabamanative
- Mississippinative
- Louisiananative
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbianative
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 26 US states in total.
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Every list Dense Blazing Star belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Dense Blazing Star
- Is Dense Blazing Star deer resistant?
- Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. 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.