You are brave. I have done it. It persisted for a few years and died out. Doesn't seem to develop a seed bank. It is biennial and requires cold strat for germination. Likes moist disturbed areas. I got my seed from a site I know of in Orange county NY. Here is an online source. Good luck!

Seeds should be collected and processed quickly after ripe to insure viability. Stratify in a cold moist media, like damp sand, in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 weeks. Surface sow in damp but not wet soil at around 70 degrees F. Seeds require light for germination. Germination should occur in 3 to 4 weeks.

I go to a wet area of our serpentine barren each October to see it bloom. It can also be found in limestone areas. I gave up trying to grow it many years ago. You know it is biennial so you are looking for seed. Prairie Moon Nursery has seed. Also, consider some of the true perennial gentians, they aren't as pretty but much more garden friendly. Sam Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Moon Nursery

Hi. i'm a guy from South Korea trying to make my own desert plant collection. So far i own... Opuntia Phaeacantha Opuntia Violacea var. Santa Rita Cylindropuntia Acanthocarpa these 3. But i'm desperately looking for... Cylindropuntia echinocarpa (silver) Cylindropuntia whipplei (snow leopard) these two species. also, Muhlenbergia rigens (deer grass) Stipa(Nassella) tenuissima (mexican feather grass) these 2 as well but mostly just looking for those Echinocarpa and Whipplei. I've found some place that sells the cuttings of those but since i'm in South Korea, so i think it's kinda difficult to get the cuttings. So i'm mostly just looking for seeds. If any of you have those seeds or cuttings, Could you help me out?