Aster, fairies in the garden

Aster bears a name that simply means “star”, and the flowers live up to it, from eight-inch cushions tucked into rock crevices to giants so tall they need staking at the back of a border. Give it full sun and well drained soil, since it will not tolerate standing water, and it flowers abundantly, often spectacularly.

Aster at a glance

Name	Aster
Family	Asteraceae
Type	perennial
Height	8 to 40 inches (20 to 120 cm)
Exposure	full sun
Soil	ordinary, well drained
Flowering	mid-spring to early summer, midsummer to early autumn or late summer to late autumn depending on the variety

Planting, caring and pruning it are steps that will help enhance blooming.

Planting aster

The planting season varies depending on the variety and is best in fall or spring depending on the blooming period of each.

• In spring, asters that flower until summer are planted.
• In fall, those blooming from early autumn to mid-autumn-late autumn are planted.

It is important to to follow certain rules to get nice blooms and have your aster develop properly.

• Choose a location that is well exposed to the sun because this will increase the blooming of your aster.
• Avoid wet and damp zones, especially in fall, because aster doesn’t like stagnating water.
• Opt for well drained soil.
• Upon planting, but also all along the blooming season, water often.

Propagating aster

Aster is a vigorous plant, some would even call it invasive.

They quickly gobble up all the space that is allocated to them, and even tend to drain the soil they grow in.

In fall or preferably in spring, you can multiply your aster by performing crown division:

• Pull out the bunch that has become too invasive.
• Replant them, or share them to others for them to be replanted in nice, sun-lit soil.
• Water the newly planted aster.
• Add fertilizer to the older bunches that have stayed in place.

Pruning and caring for aster

Cut the stems of wilted flowers as they die off, this will speed appearance of new sprouts and thus bear new flowers.

Cut back to the shortest at the beginning of winter, just after the first frost spells.
This step will ensure that the bunch stays dense, and magnificent flowers will bloom at the next season.

Potted aster

Potted aster has more important needs as regards watering and fertilizer.

• Water when the surface of the soil is dry.
• Once a fortnight, add flower plant fertilizer to extend the blooming and renew the flowers.

Varieties and types of Aster

For spring blooms or summer flowers, try out the Aster alpinus or tongolensis.

You’ll find Aster divaricus or amellus better for summer blooming.

And for fall flowers, prefer varieties such as Aster novae-angliae or Aster novi-belgii.

• Aster alpinus is a low grower, usually reaching only about 15-30 cm tall, so it suits rockeries, troughs and path edges where taller plants would quickly swamp it.
• New York aster (Aster novi-belgii) is notably prone to powdery mildew, so give the clumps generous spacing for air movement and keep the roots consistently moist to reduce stress.
• Aster amellus tolerates dry, chalky (calcareous) soils better than the North American autumn asters Symphyotrichum novi-belgii and S. novae-angliae, which generally prefer moister, richer ground.
• For a long display, look for Aster × frikartii ‘Mönch’, which flowers from midsummer into autumn at roughly 70–90 cm, though its somewhat lax stems may benefit from discreet support.

Which aster for which season?

Asters are chosen above all for when they flower, and the flowering period also decides when they go in the ground. The species named below cover the garden from spring right through to late autumn.

Whatever the species, a sunny spot and well drained soil remain the two conditions that decide the quality of the display.

All there is to know about the aster

Aster comes in small sizes that fit along edges or in rock crevasses, but there are also gigantic asters that will even need to be staked.

These taller ones should be set towards the back of a perennial garden bed.

Even with a wide range of over 250 aster species, we can still say that they all flower abundantly, often in a most spectacular manner.

Easy to care for and actually quite hardy, aster is a must-have in our gardens as well as our balconies and terraces because it also easily grows in pots.

Aster trivia

The name “Aster” means “Star”. So walking in a field of aster blooms will turn you into an astronaut!

• Erigeron, an ultra trendy Asteraceae

---

---