Blazing star

* Common name: Blazing star

* Botanical name: Liatris spicata

* What it is: An upright native perennial flower with narrow green bladed leaves and bottle-brush-like spiky flowers of pinkish-lavender in July and August. Also known as gayfeather, plants grow about 2 feet tall, and the flower spikes poke up another foot.

* Size: 3 feet tall. Space 2 feet apart.

* Where to use: Attractive to bees and butterflies, so blazing star is a good choice for a pollinator garden. Also works well in clumps of three or more in any sunny border or perennial garden. Tolerates damp soil, so is also suitable for a rain garden or wet meadow. Flowers best in full sun.

* Care: Keep damp the first season, then water usually not needed. Scatter a balanced, organic granular fertilizer over the bed early each spring, then in-season fertilizer usually isn’t needed. Avoid sites that are wet in winter. Snip off flower clusters after bloom if you lean toward neatness or wait and cut the whole plant to the ground at the end of winter.

* Great partner: Salvia, dwarf Russian sage, hardy geraniums and catmint are good color-coordinated purple or blue perennial partners. Asters are fellow natives that bloom after blazing star finishes for the season. Ornamental grasses are good textural companions.