Sandhills Blazing Star, a member of the Asteraceae (daisy) family is a slender, herbaceous, upright perennial native to the Eastern United States. It is noted for its showy spikes of purple flowers in summer through fall. It prefers full sun and dry, sandy, or rocky soil with good drainage and tolerates heat and drought. Its habitat includes long leaf pine sandhills, streams, pine barrens, sand ridges, other xeric forests and woodlands, fields, and road banks. Its erect growth proved vertical interest in the garden, attracts butterflies and pollinators and makes good cut flowers. It can be grown from seeds or corms, however seeds can take longer to establish. With regard to taxonomy, L. pilosa has been misapplied to L. graminifolia var. elegantula . Plants identified as L. pilosa may actually be L. elegantula. Erect stems are green with fine darker green ridges and reach 1-3 feet tall. Leaves appear both basally and along the stem, getting smaller as they reach the tip. The undersides may have fine hairs. Flower heads appear on a spike, with 7-10 florets, each floret contains small, tubular 5-lobed pink-purple blossoms with rounded petal tips. Long-tongued bees or butterflies may visit the flowers. Propagation is either completed by corm or seeds. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No insect or disease issues. Intolerant of wet soil and becomes lanky in shade. More information on Liatris .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf size
> 6 inches long
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves appear both basally and along the stem, getting small as they reach the tip. The base of the plant has tufts of narrow lanceolate leaves (to 12 inches) with hairy fringed margins. The leaf underside has fine hairs. Leaf length shortens progressively from the base of the plant up to the flower heads. Uppermost leaves are needle-like and 2-3 inches long.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Good Cut; Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower detail
Flower heads appear on a spike, or vertical stem of sessile disk flowers (spicate terminal inflorescence). Flower heads each have 7-10 flowers without petals (apetalous), each with 5 lobes. The flowers bloom from top to bottom (basipetally). Each floret contains a small, tubular 5-lobed pink-purple blossoms with rounded petal tips. Long-tongued bees or butterflies may visit the flowers. Blooms from August to November.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
Displays from September to December
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
A single erect stem arises from a basal tuft of leaves. The erect unbranched green stems have fine darker green ridges and reach 1-3 feet tall.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern U.S.A
Distribution
Eastern U.S. from southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey along the coastal plain to Florida and Alabama.