Common Name: Barbara's buttons
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Northeastern United States
Zone: 5 to 9
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Pink with bluish purple anthers
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Good Cut
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers light shade and moist, humusy, slightly acid soil.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Marshallia grandiflora produces tiny, orchid pink, tubular florets with bluish-purple anthers in solitary, terminal flower heads that superficially resemble the knapweeds. Flowers rise on long stems up to 18" high from basal rosettes of deep green, lance-shaped leaves. A native American plant found along streams and in clearings from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and Tennessee. Sometimes commonly called Barbara's buttons.
Genus name honors Humphry Marshall (1722-1801) and his nephew Moses Marshall (1758-1813), American botanists.
Specific epithet means large-flowered.
Problems
No serious pest or disease problems.
Uses
An interesting addition to the rock garden, border or woodland garden.