I have become a bit of an aster hound. There are just so many asters on the market that people never hear of or that nurseries do not sell. And I’m talking native species asters that, when properly sited, will require care and go on and on for years while earning diverse vibrant insects. However, just like some other wildflower, an aster will gradually stop blooming. It stinks.
I used to be incredibly unhappy when the last aster bloomed, knowing that was it for the gardening season — till I found that different asters bloom at different times in a variety of growing conditions. Should you plan things just right, you can keep the flower gratification moving much longer — such as a fireworks finale on car repeat. My kind of fall joy, I tell you. Are you ready to find the wonderful world of native asters?
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
The very first aster for me every year is an early to mid-August bloomer, big-leaf aster (Aster macrophyllus, or Symphyotrichum macrophylla if you’ve made the change to the new Latin). It enjoys partial sun to shade in soils from dry to moist, becoming about 12 to 18 inches tall and creeping around. It is native to the Great Lakes, New England and eastern Midwest. The good thing about this perennial is that it keeps its petals a long time; for me it creates a fantastic front-of-the-border splash.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
Next is my new favourite, the late-August to early September sky blue aster (Aster azureus). A dry-soil-loving, full-sun bloomer, it gets about 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide. I really think that it’s among the cleverest asters on the market. It is native to the eastern Plains and central Midwest, approximately along the Mississippi and to two countries east and west. Due to its small footprint and wiry stems, I tuck it in where I could — come bloom time, I’m constantly surprised to see those iridescent blossoms shining above long-silent summer perennials.
Missouri Botanical Garden
White woodland aster (Aster divaricatus) is native to the East Coast and takes dry soil in full shade (the frequent title is a giveaway). It blooms about precisely the exact same time as A. azureus, so it’s wonderful to have plants — one blooming in sun, one in colour. It reaches about 12 to 18 inches tall and wide, and seems fantastic massed in groups of 3.
Missouri Botanical Garden
You all know New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) I’m sure. Native to most of those central and eastern U.S., it reaches two feet wide and 3 to 5 feet tall — even briefer if in moderate soil; taller if in moist.
It is a late-September to early October bloomer; the more sun it gets, the more blossoms a myriad of insects and butterflies may enjoy. Cut it back by 50 percent before July 4 to have a bushier, briefer, bloomier plant.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
On the right here is Aster laevis, called smooth aster for its smooth leaves. At about 2 feet tall and broad, it’s surely stiff competition with all New England aster for the largest insect draw among asters. Blooming in late September to early October, smooth aster enjoys a moderate soil in full sun, and is among the easier asters to begin from seed. It’s also native to most of the U.S. Plant something else underneath it, because (such as New England aster) its legs tend to expire and look ratty.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
From early October before the end of the month, aromatic aster shrugs off frosts and also a few hard freezes. At two feet tall and broad, occasionally a bit wider, Aster oblongifolius is the last nectar pit stop for migrating and overwintering insects such as bumblebees, monarchs, red admirals and sulphurs. Dry, hot, nasty soil is its preferred home, being native by the high Plains to the East Coast. It is probably one of the very elastic asters, and that I use it like a tiny perennial shrub, particularly the cultivar ‘October Skies’.
Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
So there you go: asters blooming from August through October, and if you’re lucky into early November depending on your zone.
If you want you could cheat as well as plant false aster, or Boltonia, pictured here, which for me blossoms in early to mid-September. It is a cloud-like perennial topped with countless white frisbees that gets about 4 ft tall and 3 feet wide in full sun with moderate ground.
Please note that all of my bloom times are based on zone 5 in southern Nebraska. And note that I cut myself off with this plant list — you will find three or more times as many asters that I could inform you about. I just love asters and the fall garden! (In actuality, I’d say about a third of my garden flowers in fall.)
October and even November are the ideal times to find digging, watching where you can use some fall flowers and giving them a head start for summer development.
Tell us : What kind of asters would you grow? Are any native species crops? Do you succession garden?
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