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New England aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Deep purple flowers offer rich nectar for monarchs to fatten up and migrate to Mexico. The vibrant flowers put on a spectacular show, blooming from August to October and providing a late-season excitement in the garden. The beauty is unsurpassed when a dark orange monarch lands on the purple flowers and any goldenrod, with its complementary colour gold, grows in between. Imagine this mix glowing in the evening sun! New England aster can reach heights of 90 - 150 cm. If this is too high for you, you can Chelsea chop by cutting the stems back by one-third starting in early June. The plant will be shorter and bushier and produce even more flowers. You can cut back only some stems at a time over a few weeks to extend the flowering time.
The plant is deer resistant, salt and jugelone ( black walnut tree) tolerant and suitable for rain gardens.
Ecology:
New England aster is an important late-season nectar and pollen source for butterflies and bees. Monarchs fuel up on high-quality nectar before their flight over Lake Erie. Future bumblebee queens fatten up for their hibernation. New England asters, as all asters and goldenrods, are ecological powerhouses. They support dozens of pollen specialist bees with their specific pollen. The larvae of those specialist bees can only feed on aster pollen. New England aster is also a larval host plant for three beautiful crescent butterflies and the silvery checkerspot butterfly, as well as for countless moth species. The seeds are an abundant food source for birds throughout the winter.
Growing conditions:
New England aster is very easy to grow. In the wild, it grows in old fields and wet meadows, at forest edges, along railways, on roadsides and shorelines. It grows best in moist soil in full to part sun but will also thrive in regular garden conditions in any soil type.
New England Aster
90cm -
1.50m
great pollinator fall bloomer
Chelsea chop
sun - part sun host plant rain garden any soil type pollen specialist deer resistant medium-dry to wet bird seed jugleone + salt tolerant .
Garden symphony:
New England asters look especially good with any yellow flower blooming at the same time. Ohio goldenrod for moist sites and stiff goldenrod for drier sites are both great garden choices because they do not propagate via rhizomatous root systems and are, therefore, not aggressive. Other favourite yellow companions are sneezeweed (named for its property to induce sneezing by making a snuff out of dried leaves) and brown-eyed Susan. New England aster can be combined with many plants. Other plants with similar growing requirements are common boneset, swamp milkweed, Canada tick trefoil, Joe Pye weed and dense blazing star.