Plant Profile

Mistflower - (Conoclinium coelestinum) is an herbaceous perennial that is a member of the Asteraceae (Aster) family, which is native primarily to the Eastern United States. It is a showy native plant that is found growing along roadsides on moist ditch banks. It flowers from September through October and attracts pollinators and songbirds.

Mistflower prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, humus-rich soils that do not dry out. It grows between 18 inches to 3 feet tall and wide depending on site conditions and taller plants may be cut back in spring to prevent flopping. This low groundcover portrays a beautiful blue-purple fog when found in dense stands, the disk flowers form in clusters of 35-70 at the tops of stems in late summer and autumn, attracting late-season butterflies. It spreads by rhizomes and self-seeding while also being easy to propagate by clump division in early spring. 

This plant is one of the few native plants that we offer that does NOT have a natural home range in Wisconsin. Climates are changing and so too are the ranges for both flora and fauna. As such, this regional native is a great consideration to help benefit fauna as that change takes place. Insects that feed on Eupatorium species (Bonesets) may also use Mistflower as a host plant. These species include Clymene Moth, Lined Ruby Tiger Moth, and the Three-Lined Flower Moth.

This is a great plant to consider for a wildflower, pollinator, native or water garden and for naturalized areas. It does especially well around pond borders as long as spreading roots will not affect other plants. It will spread so should be planted with caution in small landscape situations.