Gardening
Topic for November 2009
Asters: Stars of the Fall Border
Provided by the Western
Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.
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By Pat Ford Yurkunas, |
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My grandmother and my mother, both gardeners, counted the perennial aster among their favorite garden flowers. I agree. As much as we love the beautiful and fragrant flowers that greet us early in the season, like lilies-of-the-valley, peonies, and roses, how can you not love a flower that is lighting up your garden even after the first frost. I have had the 6-foot-tall A. tartaricus bloom as late as Thanksgiving!
The word “aster” comes from the Greek for star. Asters are also known as starwort, frost flower, or Michaelmas Daisy (September 29 is the feast of Saint Michael). Asters in the wild can be found in dry woodlands as well as along roadsides, in fields, and wet ditches. Gardeners grow them in formal borders, and in natural or rock gardens. The hundreds of varieties available range from 18 inches tall to over 7 feet!
The plants we commonly grow in our sunny borders prefer well-drained soil, although they will tolerate rainy summers like we had this year. Like many perennials, asters should be divided every three years. Because their lower leaves shrivel and blacken during the summer, it is best to plant clump-forming perennials in front of them. To keep your plants more compact, and to encourage branching, pinch asters back until about the 4th of July.
For those of us who enjoy attracting wildlife to our gardens, asters provide
nectar for butterflies at a time of year when nectar supplies are low, and seed
for birds during the fall and winter months. Because asters come in a wide range
of purple, blue, and pink hues (as well as white), they are attractive
companions for turtlehead (chelone), solidago, echinacea, chrysanthemums, and
annuals such as zinnia and tithonia.
Louise Beebe Wilder said of the aster in 1918: “The faint grayish tones, the
hundred tints and shades of lavender, mallow pink, mauve, and heliotrope, and
even deep-toned violet and purple sorts lend themselves happily to almost any
association.” 1
Were these fall beauties always back of the border all-stars? Hardly.
In the 1800s native plant collectors used asters in their gardens, but they were
too ‘wild’ to be fashionable. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century
that gardeners began the widespread use of hardy asters for late-season color in
their borders. As with many of our native wildflowers, asters found favor first
with English gardeners.
O.C. Simonds, on the occasion of visiting English garden author William Robinson in 1892 had this to say, “As we approached the house, I noticed, some distance ahead, quite large areas of delicate color, mostly light blue. On coming nearer, these areas were found to be large beds of American asters. ‘Oh, you have some of our flowers!’ I exclaimed. ‘Yes,’ said Mr. Robinson, ‘you Americans do not appreciate your wild flowers. We have to bring them over to England and cultivate them awhile before you will notice them.’” 2
The first North American aster to arrive in Britain was A. lateriflorus, brought from Virginia in 1633, and quickly naturalized. However, the first violet ray-petaled A. novi-belgiae was introduced in 1710. By the early 20th century, Ernest Ballard hybridized the New York aster, as it came to be known, to become the more tidy and compact garden perennial that we see today. The New England aster, A. novi-angliae, also arrived in Britain in 1710 and became very popular.
From these ‘parents’ we now have ‘Alma Potschke’, with its beautiful, deep, rich magenta blooms. Heirloom asters can be difficult to find – especially beautiful is the New England aster ‘Harrington’s Pink,’ a magnificent, 6-foot-tall clear pink aster, which came into American gardens in the 1930s. It is unforgettable in the border surrounded by the deeper purples and blues of other asters.
In recent years, shorter asters have become popular garden plants, such as the series ‘Wood’s Pink,’ ‘Wood’s Blue,’ and ‘Wood’s Purple’ asters. A fast-spreading aster that stays about 18 inches tall is ‘October Skies’ and its pretty counterpart , ‘Raydon’s Birthday Pink’. Whether you prefer the stately back-of-the border plants, or the shorter asters to edge your bed, asters present themselves best when planted en masse, creating a beautiful mist of color in the autumn sunshine.
Sources:
The History and Folklore of North American Wildflowers by Timothy Coffey, 1993
How to Know the Wildflowers by Mrs. William Starr Dana, 1893
The Free-Spirited Garden: Gorgeous Gardens That Flourish Naturally by Susan McClure, 1999
Heirloom Flowers: Vintage Flowers for Modern Gardens by Tovah Martin, 1999
1, 2 Restoring American Gardens: An Encyclopedia of Heirloom Ornamental Plants 1640-1940 by Denise Wiles Adams, 2004
For other articles, check out our archives
Provided by the Western
Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org