PlantFiles: Bushy Aster, Rice Button Aster
Symphyotrichum dumosum 'Wood's Blue'

Aster - Michaelmas or Easter Daisy, Aster
Native to temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (most numerous in North America), this large genus of perennials and deciduous or evergreen subshrubs contains over 250 species, ranging in height from miniatures suitable for rock gardens to 6' giants. The leaves are simple and mostly smooth-edged, sometimes hairy, often quite small. Showy, daisy-like flowerheads are usually produced in late summer or fall in a wide range of colors, inluding blue, violet, purple, pink, red and white, all with a central disc of yellow or purple. There are many aster cultilvars once listed under the parent species, but this has become too complex and many now stand alone. A typical example is Aster 'Coombe's Violet'. The 'China asters' grown as bedding annuals are now placed in the genus Callistephus.
Cultivation: Easily grown, they prefer sun (or part-shade in hot areas) in a well-drained soil, preferably enriched with compost. Keep moist at all times and shelter from strong winds and stake the taller species. Cut the long stems down to ground level and tidy the clumps when the flowers have faded. Propagate by division in spring or late fall, or from softwood cuttings in spring. Divide plants every 2 to 3 years, using the most vigorous outer part. Powdery mildew, rust, aphids and snails can be a problem.

Short 12-16"- Plant 14" apart. Zone 4-8 Gentian blue flowers with gold centers in the fall. Likes sun and butterflies. Clean foliage, virtually mildew and disease free.