Asters are daisy-like perennials with starry-shaped flower heads that range in color from white to blue to purple. They bring delightful beauty to the garden in late summer and autumn, when many of our summer blooms may be fading. Here’s how to grow asters in your garden!
About Asters
There are quite a few species and varieties of asters out there! The two most commonly encountered asters in the home gardening world are the New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) and the New York aster (S. novi-belgii), but you will see a range of hybrid varieties available in showy pinks, blues, and purples at garden centers. “Wild type” species native to your region may also be available and are generally a wise choice ecologically speaking, despite not being as flashy as the cultivated varieties. Learn more about recommended varieties further down this page.
Asters attract great numbers of bees and butterflies, providing the pollinators with an important late-season supply of nectar. Thanks to the aster’s late bloom time, they are sometimes called “Michaelmas daisies,” which refers to the holiday of the same name that occurs annually on September 29!
The plant is versatile and can be used in many places—borders, rock gardens, or wildflower gardens, to name a few. Depending on the variety, the plant’s height can range from 8 inches to 8 feet, so you should be able to find one suitable for your garden.
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Aster that won't bloom
I have many aster plants that bloom beautifully. However, at one site, there's a lush, green aster with many little buds on it, but for the second year, the plant doesn't flower. It's planted in full sun, doesn't get chemical fertilizer, and is watered somewhat every few days. The soil seems to be decent loam. Why won't this little guy bloom???
If the plants foliage looks
If the plants foliage looks nice with no signs of insects or yellowing keep the plants moist and do not fertilize. Add some mulch around the plant to keep the soil cool and moist. Hopefully the cooler weather will produce some flowers for you.
Asters
I got a pot of aster flowers and don't know anything about them. I live in Wichita, Kansas. Can these grow inside?
We’ve never grown asters
We’ve never grown asters inside. We’d suggest you grow asters in a pot on your patio and bring then inside and sit on a sunny window once they bloom.
Planted a lovely aster about
Planted a lovely aster about 3 weeks (late August). The buds opened up and all was well. Then one morning I noticed every flower was gone from the plant. I have rabbits in my yard and I presume they are the culprits. What can I do to keep the rabbits from eating my aster blooms. They've not eaten the foliage, just the flowers!
Rabbits do like to eat
Rabbits do like to eat asters. If you are lucky you may have a second bloom from your plants if you can keep the rabbits away. Check our rabbit page for suggestions.
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Sharon - I used to have the
Sharon - I used to have the same problem with rabbits eating my Aster (and other foliage). I read somewhere - probably Pinterest - to grate/shred original scented "Irish Spring" soap (which I found at the dollar store) to keep them away. I tried it this year and - viola! My Aster bloomed beautifully and my lily buds didn't get eaten! It didn't seem to harm any of the plants in my garden. This will be my go-to method from now on.
i have had my Aster for two
i have had my Aster for two years. It is a beautiful bright green plant, but has never bloomed. Could I have planted it to deep? Thank you, I have never trimmed it.
Hi, Sheila, This is a tough
Hi, Sheila, This is a tough one because these are pretty forgiving plants. They perform best—bloom best—in full sun but tolerate part shade. (Perhaps only a little "part shade.") The do not like to sit in water, so well draining soil is important, and good quality—loamy or composted—soil helps. And add a shovelful of compost at the base in spring.
That's all we can say. The plant may have needed time to become established. Check these steps and see how it goes next year. (Yea, it is a long way off but never give up!)
My asters seem to bloom early
My asters seem to bloom early and early ever year. They are blooming now in July and before did not bloom until August or September, so I had color for the fall. Once they flower will that be it after the flowers die or will they rebloom until frost?
You can deadhead the blooms
You can deadhead the blooms to encourage the plant to bloom again. If you keep up with removing the spent flowers before they set seed (remove the flower and stalk back to the next branch, leaf, or bud), the plant should continue to bloom until the end of the growing season.
* planted many mixed mounding
* planted many mixed mounding Asters around my walkways last fall in colors of red, white, blue, pink. These are all supposed to be only 18 - 24 inches tall and mound spread alike by bloom time. The white are 29 - 37 inches tall already and the crimson red are 24- 27 inches tall. Barely mounding yet . Pink and blue are in the normal range. Can I prune back the white and crimson red Asters to get them to be within the same height as the others are? Or my border is gonna be just way out of control around my walkways?
Hi Cat, Yes, you can prune
Hi Cat,
Yes, you can prune the taller asters. You may loose a few blooms but the plants will get bushier and you will have more flowers later in the season.
I purchase some asters that
I purchase some asters that were on sale in October and planted them in front of my house. I put some garden fabric down followed up by mulch. Now it's April, and my aster are brown and dry.. Did I kill them? And can I save them?
I bought a beautiful aster.
I bought a beautiful aster. It was on a table at a nursery marked perennial sale. Very full and covered in flowers. It even had a hoop around it to keepit contained. The flowers are very puffy and kind of look more like mums. I'm hoping it's a perennial variety. They were only marked as andreas asters. Any insight on whether they are likely perennial or annual and if they might self seed would be great. Thankyou!
We are not familiar with
We are not familiar with Andreas asters but most asters are perennial. They do selfseed if you leave the faded flowers on the plant.
I bought 8 Blue Dragon asters
I bought 8 Blue Dragon asters Labor Day weekend while visiting family in Virginia (zone 6b) and promptly planted them in a slope flower bed at my home in North Carolina (zone 7b). The asters had many buds and blooms when I bought them, but every one of them has presumably died within 2 weeks of planting (they are brown and crispy looking). I did notice some snail "ooze" on them within the first couple days of planting so I put out snail repellant around each of the plants. They are planted on a slope with clay soil that gets partial sun.
My questions are: What did I do wrong? And will they come back next year?
So I bought some asters
So I bought some asters earlier this year and left them in the pot. They are beautiful! I'm not sure if I should leave them in the pots and just cut them back and then plant in the spring OR do I plant them now and cut back.
Thanks!
If you have a perennial aster
If you have a perennial aster (versus annual), we would cut them back to 6 inches after they bloom.
You could transplant the aster into the garden for the winter as long as it's six weeks before the ground freezes.
Or, you could literally plant the container in the ground. This is a bit riskier. Tip: Plant the pot at a slight tilt so it doesn't acculate water at the top and drown itself when snow thaws. Finally, you can store the aster in an unheated garage.
Either way, you'll want to give it a nice watering before the ground freezes.
This happened to me too! I
This happened to me too! I planted with very good organic garden soil. At first the wilted . I watered them and 3 hours later they were perky and upright. But now thd lower leaves are brown and dying. I'm going to try planting them in pots with drainage rather thN the ground. I got bee balms at the same time which have sturdier stalks and similar lookig flowers and they are kicking butt! Super sturdy , upright and seem to just endure a lot more. I'm going to switch out the Astros for more bee balm
In the garden and nurse the 3 a stirs back to health . Maybe ur soil is thd problem. In OH it's like clay
Transplanted 10 inch potted
Transplanted 10 inch potted Asters after Labor Day. The root ball of each plant required me to dig the hole about 8 inches deep x 10 inches wide and returned the displaced soil to fill in around the planting. With adequate drainage, my initial watering was supplemented with basic plant food followed by daily watering applied as a mist from a garden hose.
Assuming I did everything correctly, why do the flowers within each planting (after 2 weeks) appear to be drying out? Plenty of afternoon sun and nightly temps no less than 60 degrees. The Mums that I planted are doing terrific (so far ) and they were planted under the same conditions. What went wrong and is this symptom of poor timing or a case of my deadheaded Aster without a bloom?
Signed :(( Discouraged novice planter
Check the soil about 2 inches
Check the soil about 2 inches below the surface to see if it is moist. If not the plants need more water. Add mulch around the plants. Asters like cool temperatures and will do better when the night temperatures drop below 60.
"Last year, purchased and
"Last year, purchased and planted several potted "daisy like" asters, bearing the "annual aster" tag. Some were blue, and some purple. Since I do not care for the pin cushion looks of mums, I was delighted to find those beautiful daisy looking flowers with the yellow centers., even though they were annuals. I am in Nebraska, and was a bit surprised when they came up in the spring, again, and bloomed this fall. My issue? They are full and compact, with a profusion of purple and blue flowers. However, they no longer present with a daisy like appearance. They resemble the full, rounded flower of a mum, with no yellow center. I retained the marker, left in the ground from last year, to confirm that they were indeed the same flower. I have no mums planted in this flower bed. Any idea what happened?
how can i tell if the astors
how can i tell if the astors that i just bought are perennial or annual. I still have the label from the plant but it does not specify either annual or perennial?
Most asters are perennials.
Most asters are perennials. The most popular are Michaelmas daisies which are about 12 inches tall. Annual asters are popular with florists for cut bouquets. The popular Chinese aster resembles a daisy but showier and more colorful.
I planted arrow-leaved aster,
I planted arrow-leaved aster, over 5' tall and as wide. Aug. just budding. Sept. producing just the yellow center with 9 green petals. I expected blue with yellow centers. Have you known this to happen before?
Hello. I purchased astors
Hello. I purchased astors last Fall from a nursery. I planted them and they survived the N. Idaho winter very well. They are now very hearty, compact bushes- very uniform in size and shape. It is the middle of August and I have yet to see any evidence of buds or flowers. Is it just too early for them to bloom, or have I done something wrong? Thank you.
Hi, Kathleen: Assuming that
Hi, Kathleen: Assuming that your plants are getting good water and sun, chances are that they are a fall-blooming type and are just biding their time to surprise you in a few weeks. Thanks for "ast"-ing!
I live in Minnesota and my
I live in Minnesota and my grandma from Texas sent me some aster seeds. Am I still able to plant the seeds outdoors in July??
How sweet of your
How sweet of your grandmother. Asters are plant that can thrive in Minnesota—and usually bloom in the late summer or fall. They are also a great plant for attracting pollinating bees to the garden late in the season. Normally, you would seed around May though you can set transplants in pots most any time. You can save those seeds in a paper bag in a dry, cool place.
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