PlantFiles: New England Aster, Hardy Aster, Michaelmas Daisy
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Alma Potschke'

This aster is so very easy to grow in zone 5 and gives a beautiful display of color. It is quite fuss free and dependable. It does need to be sheared to 2/3 it's height in late spring as it sprouts so fast and needs dividing every 2 years or so. I combine it with white boltonia asteroid for a very attractive display in late summer/eary fall. The only negative I'd say is it attracts bees. Will post a picture soon.

This plant remains quiet until late summer/early fall when it explodes in bright pink. It does gain size steadily - great to pass along to others.

We're in Zone 4 due to the fact we're out on a farm and there is little protection from the wintry elements. I planted 10 asters of this type in our gardens that I purchased for 25 cents each. They were stressed and nearly dead but for a quarter ...... who cares. Half of them died over winter but we ended up with 5 nice plants in the spring that began blooming around August 1st and are still showing blooms as of November 1st. They are as nice or better than Chrysanthemums for fall color. We have them in Lavendar, Purple and Pink. I'm looking to add Red and White next year. They are really nice. We have little else to compare with in the fall but they are the best of what we have for fall flowers.

'Alma Potschke' is another great aster for adding late color to the garden when ther's little else blooming. I find she needs to be divided every couple of years or she'll start to die out from the center of the clump. Dig the plants in early spring when they're just starting to emerge. The rootball is large and heavy! Cutting it into small chunks with my flat edged spade seems to be the easiest method, but you may need a knife or saw to get through the woody roots.