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Dodecatheon meadia shooting star
shooting star
Characteristics
Descriptions
Scientific Synonyms:
Primula meadia
Light Requirements
sun, part-sun, part-shade
Soil Moisture
dry, moist
Soil Description
acid, neutral, average, poor, loam, sand, gravel/rock
Height
1'-2'
Recommended Spacing
8"-12"
Bloom Time
April, May, June
Bloom Color
white, pink
Hardiness Zone
4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Description
Shooting star is an ephemeral, surfacing each spring with its blooms and then retreating to dormancy as temperatures rise in summer. Anticipating its appearance is half the fun. Well, maybe not half—the flowers are spectacular. But we do get excited waiting for it to bloom! It produces dramatic downward facing flowers. The sharply swept-back petals and gold stamens come to a point, resembling shooting stars falling toward the earth. The flowers are arranged in clusters, with several flowers per stem, and the stems emerge from a basal rosette of grayish green foliage.
Dodecatheon meadia is highly variable across its natural range, with the most obvious variation being in petal color. You may see white, pink, lavender, and deeper tones like magenta. The variations overlap geographically, and even plants in the same population may differ in coloration. The diversity of hues is part of its charm.
Cultivation
Shooting star is a highly adaptable plant found in open woods, glades, rocky slopes and ledges, as well as meadows and prairies. Like many ephemerals, it appreciates consistent moisture when it’s growing and can tolerate drier conditions during summer when it's dormant. Cultivating shooting star in a garden setting is not complicated; it will grow in moist to slightly dry soils in full sun to part shade. It is well adapted to average soil but will thrive in a richer environment. Proper drainage is a must. Waterlogged plants or boggy, wet feet won’t do. Conversely, because it can handle drier, sandier soils than most ephemerals, it's a great choice for gardeners with those conditions. In hotter climates, it benefits from light shade. In natural habitats, it shows a preference for slopes, where it faces less competition from taller plants. When planting from containers or plugs, early spring or fall will work. Transplanting from one area to another is best done in late summer or fall when the plants are dormant; don't disturb them when they're actively growing.
Recommended Spacing
Space plants 8"-12" on center.
The basal foliage reaches somewhere between 8"-12" in width, so the closer spacing will ensure overlap. The wider spacing leaves a little room, and under optimal conditions, the plants are likely to touch.
Companion Plants
It's helpful to plant this ephemeral among other perennials that will play nicely with it (not too much competition) or will fill in the space across the season once it goes dormant. Good companions include Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvanica sedge), Erythronium albidum (white fawnlily), Erythronium americanum (dogtooth violet), Jeffersonia diphylla (twinleaf), Chrysogonum virginianum (green and gold), Hepatica nobilis var. acutiloba (sharplobe hepatica), Hydrophyllum virginianum (eastern waterleaf), and Claytonia virginica (Virginia spring beauty).
Additional Notes
Shooting star delights humans when we come across it, and insects are fans as well. Bumblebees are the most common visitors, gathering pollen by vibrating against the narrow tube that encases the stamens. Overcollection of this beautiful species has threatened its subsistence in the wild.
Pricing & Availability
Would you like your plants shipped later? You may choose to do so in the shopping cart.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Did you know? When plants are available from multiple growers, we list growers closest to your location first.
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
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$50 off orders of $750 or more
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15% off orders of $3,000 or more
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Maps, Wetland Status & More
MAP OF NATIVE RANGE
Recorded County Distribution: USDA data.
Native To
| AL, AR, DC, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, WV, FL, LA, TX |
Legal Status
| Endangered | FL, MI, MN, LA, PA |
| Possibly Extirpated | NY |
| Protected | FL, PA |
| Special Concern | MN |
Wetland Status
| Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain | FACU |
| Eastern Mountains and Piedmont | FACU |
| Great Plains | FAC |
| Midwest | FACU |
| Northcentral and Northeast | FACU |
MAP OF WETLAND DELINEATION REGIONS
Interpreting Wetland Status
|
Code |
Status |
Designation |
Comment |
|
OBL |
Obligate Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Almost always occur in wetlands |
|
FACW |
Facultative Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands |
|
FAC |
Facultative |
Hydrophyte |
Occur in wetlands and non-wetlands |
|
FACU |
Facultative Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands |
|
UPL |
Obligate Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Almost never occur in wetlands |
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta | Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons |
| Subclass | Dilleniidae | |
| Order | Primulales | |
| Family | Primulaceae | Primrose family |
| Genus | Dodecatheon | shootingstar |
| Species | Dodecatheon meadia | shooting star |
ADDITIONAL COMMON NAMES:
shootingstar, pride of Ohio, Eastern shooting star, roosterheads, prairie pointers
Plant Sizes
Sizes Sizes
Sizes info
Shipping & Planting
SHIPPING INFO:
Shipping is free on all plants orders!
Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.
Shipping plugs:
Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.
When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.
After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.
Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.
PLANTING INFO:
Planting plugs:
We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.
We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.
Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.