Blazing star

Value to bees

Nectar

Very high

Pollen

High

As a honey crop

Not a honey source

Which bees, and why

The dense florets are shallow and accessible, and the spire form gives bees a great many flowers within a short walk. It is also a principal nectar plant for monarch butterflies on migration.

Dense shallow florets on an upright spire, accessible to short and long-tongued bees alike.

Worth knowing

An outstanding summer nectar source, and among the most heavily worked prairie plants.

Flowering

In flower

July to September (northern hemisphere)

A long midsummer to late-summer flow.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun on moisture-retentive but free-draining soil. It grows from a corm and dislikes winter waterlogging.

Size

60-120 cm tall.

Native range

Eastern and central North America, in prairie, damp meadow and open ground.

Suits

Small gardens, Large gardens, Meadow or wildflower area, Containers and window boxes

• Full sun is essential — it flops badly in shade.
• Grows from a corm; plant in spring and avoid heavy wet winter soil, which rots it.
• Leave the seedheads for goldfinches, which strip them thoroughly.

What it looks like

Grassy narrow leaves with dense upright spires of fluffy purple florets, opening from the top of the spire downwards — the reverse of almost every other spike-flowered plant.