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I’m a writer, designer, and lifelong gardener. I'm also author of "Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?", a book due out from Timber Press in November 2012, and I host/produce a podcast and column called Garden Confidential at Fine Gardening Magazine. My company, Oakleaf Green, is a boutique landscape design firm specializing in planting design with primarily sustainable and native plants. Oakleaf Green is currently on hiatus while I wrap up a book, for Timber Press, due out in Fall 2012. In the meantime, you can find me here or on my blog, Garden Smackdown.
I’m a writer, designer, and lifelong gardener. I'm also author of "Why... More »
The aster family, Asteraceae, is one of the biggest plant families there is — in fact, it's second only to the orchid family in size. You may think the aster family is all about ho-hum mums and those familiar blue- and lavender-flowered plants we typically call asters, but odds are, you've been enjoying some aster cousin since August. Here are a few that deserve a little more play in the landscape.
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by Andrew Keys
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| Did you know this was an aster? That's right, old favorite Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum, aka Eutrochium purpureum, zones 4 to 9) is one of the tallest members of the aster clan, and you've probably been enjoying it since the dog days of summer. Joe Pye likes damp soil and sun, and can grow as large as 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. You'll find lots of great varieties for sale; 'Gateway' and the shorter 'Little Joe' are two. |
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| One plant that doesn't get much play but is adored by those in the know is helenium (Helenium autumnale hybrids and cultivars, zones 4 to 8). This genus blooms in that summer-to-fall period in hot colors that somehow manage to mesh well with most others. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. This cultivar is called 'Fiesta'. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Dietzel |
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Tatarian asters (Aster tataricus, zones 4 to 8), like the cultivar 'Jindai', will change the way you think about the typical aster. Yes, they have the little lavender daisies we know and love, but these asters get tall (3 to 4 feet), and their big, dark green leaves give them a somewhat tropical feel when they're not in bloom. They bloom in fall.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Kenpei
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Kenpei
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by Andrew Keys
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| Even though its name says otherwise, false aster (Boltonia asteroides var. latisquama and cultivars, zones 4 to 9) is most definitely in the aster family tree. I have a love-hate relationship with often-floppy false aster, but I'm always happy to see its tiny shasta daisy-like flowers in fall. Where flopping is a concern, these plants can be pruned to half their height in early summer to make them stronger, or planted among neighbors to bolster them. They grow 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The shorter cultivar 'Jim Crockett' is said to be less flopilicious. |
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by Andrew Keys
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| The last aster family member here isn't even a plant we grow much for flowers, but for foliage. Ajania (ajania pacifica, zones 5 to 9), also called silver and gold chrysanthemum, is one of my all-time-favorite plants. This vigorous, easy-to-grow plant asks only sun and well-drained soil, and its handsome silvery, white-edged leaves are a treat all season. Bright yellow button flowers are usually the last to appear before frost comes. |
Comments
zoilo_ds Hi, just to add a few more colors to Aster. 
7 months ago · Like
· 2
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mccutcheon1 Beautiful! I went out and watered mine.
7 months ago · Like
Matt Webster I have a Georgia Aster that I just transplanted to my mailbox because it was too floppy & spindley to be near my front door. What do I do with it once it dies back when the frosts come? If I cut it back to the ground, will it come back fuller next year?
7 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Oct. 10, 2012.
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