The Gayfeathers

If you've never become acquainted with the Kansas Gay-feathers, you've certainly missed out on something. Their botanical name is Liatris spicata. They are hardy but definitely not spreaders or pests. These gay plants bloom during August and September and sometimes until frost. They range in height from 9 inches to a foot and a half, the spikes making up most of the height.

And unlike most plants that the flowers are born in spikes, the Gay-feathers open their flowers from the top of the spike down. In some cases they open from the middle up and down the spike. The flowers are about a half-inch across but they are in little clusters of four or five. Each flower is almost exactly like those of the Hymenocallis or spider lily except they are very tiny.

I would advise you to buy a plant and then raise your own seed rather than buy seeds to start with, although sometimes you may have success with seeds; usually it requires good care to start them. mainly though, to raise them from seeds, they need to be sown in the late fall or very early spring.

When older they form large tubers under the soil similar to Dahlias except that they grow down. These will endure the coldest of winters and the dryest of summers. Be sure to not overlook these in your fall or spring planting.