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Liatris spicata 'Floristan White' photo

14 years ago

Was wondering if there was anything I could do to keep my L.spicata floristan white from turning brown so fast? Maybe more water? With in a day or two they start turning brown before the whole stalk has open. My tallest one is 44 inches, so they are really getting to a good size. They have turn brown like this every year. The plant is 4 years old.

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Comments (5)

john_4b
14 years ago
Great looking plant there! That is how they bloom. I don't think more water will make any difference. They look like they don't really need more water. Even on the purple cultivars, the bloom goes to a dried out darker purple as they continue opening down the stalk. It's maybe not quite as noticeable as on the white ones. You can cut them back after blooming if you don't like the look, or don't want to leave the seed heads for the birds to feast on.
stephanie_kay
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you, John.

I will try not to think about them turning brown. Normally I cut them back when they are done blooming. This year I have decided to let them go to seed to hopefully attract some birds, besides sparrows.
I do have purple dwarf, but this is their first year and they have not yet bloomed so I do not know what they will look like.

Stephanie
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I love Liatris. L. spicata is the one most often seen in the trade and it's a native prairie flower. Sometimes it's helpful to know where something comes from when trying to figure out cultural requirements or why it does what it does. Liatris is pretty adaptable though. I have a hard time keeping them from reseeding in my bog half the yard away! They also increase vegetatively through many additional corms each year. They're tough, I bet yours come back nicely. Kobold is the "fluffy" L. spicata cultivar most people grow. I grow Liatris Floristan Purple with Echinacea White Swan and Echinops Ritro on one end of a bed and Floristan White with Echinacea Magnus and Echinops Arctic Glow on the other end. Looks pretty cool. I also grow/collect every native species Liatris I can get my hands on. Prairie Nursery has many. They all have subtle differences in flower-form and color, also varying bloom times. My current favorite is L. aspera, that could easily change in the next 10 seconds though ;o). Some people don't like the way they look when they're done flowering but I really like Liatris. I don't think I enjoy them half as much as the gold finches and monarchs do though!
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mori1
14 years ago
Thanks for asking this question. I noticed that white ones were turning brown but I thought I had forgotten to water them.
stephanie_kay
Original Author
14 years ago
I have read where that they can be used for cut flowers. But with them turning brown so quickly I would not want them in a cut flower bouquet.

But I love them anyway.

Stephanie
Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)
14 years ago
As we speak I'm cutting the "brown" spent flowers back down to the white fresh blooms. I don't think it looks bad with the heads trimmed back as they go over.

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