Pacific Northwest Gardening: Anybody familiar with Liatris (Purple Gayfeather), 0 by vickijackson55

vickijackson55 wrote:
I was given Liatris Spicata (gayfeather) by my best friend for my Bday in July. Very unusal plant whose flowers bloom from the top instead of the bottom. I had read that when it was done blooming you could prune it to the basil root. Now I've read more things that convince me most everything should wait until Spring to be pruned. It looks pretty sad, does anyone have this plant, is it pretty hardy, and did I damage it by pruning it too early?