Pasture Thistle
Cirsium discolor
The best native thistle for wildlife: large rose-purple heads that bumblebees and monarchs work hard in late summer, followed by seed that goldfinches strip while lining their nests with the down. A well-behaved biennial of open ground, told from the invasive thistles by leaves that are bright white beneath. It also hosts the painted lady butterfly.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- biennial
- Height
- 3–10 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist, dry
- Soil pH
- neutral
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- pink, purple
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, larval host
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV