Tip of the Week — 9/22/08
Just Ask About Asters
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
Autumn is incomplete without asters. Ornamental grasses look bare if they are not adorned by these starry creatures. Chrysanthemums and goldenrod (Solidago) look friendless without asters by their side.
There are plenty of good asters on the market. One of the best for this area is Aster ‘Little Carlow’. This aster is a hybrid between Aster cordifolius and Aster novi-belgii. It has a stunning blue ray flower with yellow disks and maintains a nice compact form.
Two other good blues are Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies’ or Aster oblongifolius ‘Raydon’s Favorite’. ‘October Skies’ is the shorter, bushier, and bluer of the two; either is worth a try in the garden.
Asters make excellent cut flowers and are attractive to butterflies. Grow them in full sun in average to dry soil.
Asters are taking over my garden! I planted a few some years back and they have reseeded like maniacs. I have to pull more up next year, but this year I’m glad I didn’t, since right now they are putting on quite a show. I wish they were a more compact variety, though, like the one you mention.