Master Gardener Ann Bartlett gives us ideas for brightening your fall with asters.
Greek mythology tells us that the goddess of innocence and purity, Astraea, was last of the immortals to abandon Earth when the gods fled to Mount Olympus. Zeus placed her among the stars to become the constellation Virgo.
From there she scattered star dust upon Earth. Wherever it settled, star flowers bloomed. We call them asters, a name derived from the Greek word for star.
The aster family is large, containing 250 members. These include annuals, biennials, perennials, and a few small shrubs. The latter are native to South Africa where they thrive in sunny, well drained situations. The others are native to Europe, Asia, and North America where they prefer consistent moisture.
Many are shade tolerant. Here I see them blooming along the roadside in autumn. They are native to our Eastern forests, as well as to western Canada and the Rocky Mountains.
Asters have yellow centers surrounded by a corona of strap-shaped petals of blue, pink, white, or yellow. Their growth habit may be mounding or erect. The erect ones tend to be rather tall—three to four feet in bloom—and they may require staking. It's a good idea to pinch asters back by half around Memorial Day to encourage bushier plants. I try to pinch mine back around the Fourth of July as well if they are getting too huge.
Asters flower in autumn and they are very attractive to butterflies. Divide them every third year to maintain vitality and ensure that you will have more use and share.
The most popular garden varieties are Michaelmas daisies (Aster novi belgii) and New England asters (Aster novae angliae). Alma Potchke is a popular pink New England aster. About three feet tall, it generally stands on its own stems. Bluebird has great color, but at four feet, it tends to fall over unless supported. (Frankly, I found it too much trouble and removed bluebird aster.)
Purple Dome, another New England aster, is a tidy mound of purple daisies about 18 inches tall and wide. I have never had to pinch it back and find it to be trouble free. October Skies (Aster oblongifolius) is a mound of a different dimension. It does bloom well into October, which is great. However, it needs to be pinched twice to prevent it from engulfing neighboring plants.
There is a series called Wood’s Asters, which are eight inches tall. I found them to be disappointingly short lived.
In the Victorian language of flowers, asters represent patience, daintiness, and love. The flowers were exchanged as love tokens in that era. In the language of today’s florists, asters are September’s flower. Very appropriate—Virgo reigns over this month as well.