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New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)

from $8.99
Only 3 available

Botanical name: Symphyotrichum novi-belgii • Bloom season: Fall • Bloom color: Blue-purple with yellow centers

Sheets of blue-purple daisies with yellow centers, blooming in fall on tall upright stems. Asters are one of the last significant nectar sources of the season, feeding migrating butterflies and late bumblebee queens building reserves before winter. In full bloom, it is one of the strongest color statements in the autumn garden. Asters also support thirty-four specialist bee species across the western US, bees whose young only eat aster pollen.

Botanical name: Symphyotrichum novi-belgii • Bloom season: Fall • Bloom color: Blue-purple with yellow centers

Sheets of blue-purple daisies with yellow centers, blooming in fall on tall upright stems. Asters are one of the last significant nectar sources of the season, feeding migrating butterflies and late bumblebee queens building reserves before winter. In full bloom, it is one of the strongest color statements in the autumn garden. Asters also support thirty-four specialist bee species across the western US, bees whose young only eat aster pollen.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Symphyotrichum novi-belgii

Common Name: New York Aster

Native: Native

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Fall

Bloom Color: Blue-purple with yellow centers

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 2'-3' x H 3'-4'

Soil: Moist, well-drained

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 4 to 8

Spread Habit: Spreads by rhizome

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Eastern N.A. (Atlantic; outside western regions)

Growing Notes

Full sun and moist, well-drained soil. This one wants more water than the Great Basin natives in this catalog and will look poor on a dry site, so put it in an irrigated bed. Space about 2 feet apart, partly for air circulation, since crowded asters get mildew on the lower leaves.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Moist, well-drained

  • Mature size: 3 to 4 ft by 2 to 3 ft

Maintenance

Cut it back by half in early June for a sturdier plant that does not need staking. Leave the stems standing over winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third. Divide every three years, keeping the outer sections and discarding the woody center, or it declines. Lower-leaf mildew late in the season is cosmetic.