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Tried and True Native Plant Selections
for the Mid-Atlantic
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Liatris spicata ([Dense] Blazing Star, Gayfeather)
Tall and upright, Gayfeather provides nice vertical form in a garden. Its purplish, feathery flower spikes contrast well with yellow-flowered, mound-forming plants. Natural populations are widely scattered in the Mid-Atlantic Region.*
*It is native to DC, rare/historical in DE, recorded only in Baltimore and Washington counties in MD, and mostly found in southeastern and western PA. In VA, it is infrequent in the mountains and rare in the Piedmont, although often abundant where found, including Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties. You can view the VA counties in which it has been reported here.
Learn more about other Mid-Atlantic plants:
Tried and True Native Plant Fact Sheets