Liatris Care
pippi21(Z7 Silver Spring, Md.)July 21, 2010
Okay, the liatris is finished blooming, what do I do with it now> Do I cut it down to the ground?Will it come back and rebloom if left alone? Where are the seeds and how do I gather them? I thought it came from a bulb. I would like to move these in the Fall to a better location. Do they have probablem with transplanting?
My experience...
Do I cut it down to the ground?
You can cut the stalk if you like and leave the basal leaves.
Will it come back and rebloom if left alone?
Mine never has reflowered.
Where are the seeds and how do I gather them?
If you cut the spent bloom, you will not have seeds. If you want seeds, just let the spent blooms mature and when they turn brown you can gather them from the seed pods.
I thought it came from a bulb.
All plants form seeds and if sown with the right conditions, will grow. Yes, Liatris has bulbs, but these were born from seeds.
Do they have a problem with transplanting?
This is a tough plant. Transplanting has never been a problem for me. :O)
I leave my stalks on; the gold finches go crazy for them later in the year :-) And they are one tough plant - I was renovating my island last fall and a few liatris were dug up, set under the apple tree and forgotten about. Granted, they had a bunch of dirt attached to them, but still, they survived the New England winter above ground, and the poor little things weren't even noticed until I saw them start to flower this year! They are now happily in the garden :-) Lynn
I think the drying seedheads on Liatris are rather ornamental, and as Anniebean pointed out, the Goldfinches love the seed. Mine has occasionally made a seedling here or there, which are welcome, but it's not a crazy re-seeder.
The one plant I'd love to reseed and doesn't. Seed generally doesn't willingly drop either; just what you pull or the goldfinches pull off and drop. I accidently pulled out a clump recently and kind of destroyed the corm. I took a chance and replanted it elsewhere and sure enough, it took and is currently blooming. This is without a doubt one of my favorite perennials.
You won't get seed if you cut off the bloom stalks. The seeds I wintersowed last year didn't sprout. However, I have volunteers that sprout on their own. I'm a bird lover, so I leave the stalks up all winter so the birds can feast on the seeds. Goldfinches aren't the only birds that like them. Evidently, some of the seeds end up on the ground and sprout. They're very easy to move to where you want them, or dig up and give away.
Yes, they will form a bulb as they grow from seed.
Deanna