New England aster is one of the easiest native asters to find at local garden shops. Mature plants top out at five feet in height and reward gardeners with an explosion of starry purple blooms just before fall.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
While the sight of fall foliage lighting up the landscape in flaming colors is seasonably enjoyable, I also temper such brightness with cooler hues in my garden. Purple is an excellent counter-color, and it is served up in heapin’ helpin’ portions with asters, many of which save their regal shows for the arrival of autumn.
When it comes to asters, I tend to lean toward native selections showing off their finest flower exhibits in my garden. Need examples? Below are three pretty picks to consider for your autumn landscape.
New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). From big-box hardware store nursery centers to online garden shops, this is probably the easiest indigenous aster to find, and for good reason: It can stretch to about five feet high and wide while saluting the approaching autumn with an explosion of starry purple blooms.
True to its tough native roots, New England aster is drought-tolerant and also deer-resistant. In addition, it is an early autumn favorite of lingering bees and butterflies. Plant breeders like it, too, and have created many cultivars, with the dwarf Purple Dome (two feet tall and wide) probably being one of the more popular selections.
Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). Automatic in its appeal to gardeners, aromatic aster is as advertised with pleasantly scented leaves that serve as a solid green backdrop for a profusion of dazzling lavender flowers. Although usually short in stature—about three feet high and wide—this native aster makes up for it visually with its bloom boom that starts in September and usually lasts until November.
Aromatic aster is a sun lover that does best in well-draining sites. Although not as readily available at local garden shops as its New England kin, it is not hard to find online.
Climbing aster (Symphyotrichum carolinianum). While typical asters are somewhat mounding in their growth habit, climbing aster is a rambler. Behaving like a vine, this pretty can stretch out to over eight feet long, making it a perfect candidate to doll up a bare trellis or clunky fence in the fall with sweeps of pleasing, pinkish-purple blossoms.
In spite of it originating in the Southeast, climbing aster is not a usual offering on the web or at local nurseries, which is unfortunate, but I have found that haunting native plant sales at this time of year is a good way to find this fun plant.
October in the garden
• While cutting back herbaceous perennials as the first frosts start nipping at their leaves, don’t be so quick to whack away at the plumes of ornamental grasses. These fluffy tufts can not only survive the coming chill to flaunt their special beauty in the winter garden, but they can also be used to accentuate indoor arrangements during the coldest months.
• Bagworms been bugging your evergreen pride-and-joys such as cedars, arborvitaes or junipers? Insecticides are more effective when applied in the spring, but what can you do now? Simple—if you see any bagworm bags (which contain moth eggs) dangling on branches like ugly, brown, oblong Christmas ornaments, snip them off and toss away in a trash bag.
Tip of the month
Although not native to our shores, the Tatarian aster (Aster tartaricus), imported from eastern Asia, is certainly another fancy-flowering possibility for your fall garden. And it will be hard to miss because this impressive aster can reach up to six feet in height—that’s a biggie! For gardeners faint of heart or lacking in space to accommodate such a sizeable plant, the popular cultivar Jindai restrains itself to around three to four feet high, but what it lacks in stature, it makes up for with an impressive purple coat of autumn blooms on sturdy stems. Jindai is normally an easy find both online and at local garden shops.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.