ASTER. Widespread, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. Colorful perennial daisies of variable scale and habit and, thus, uses in the garden. Most should have sun and reasonably well drained soil and will tolerate some summer drought (though they bloom longer with continued moderate watering). Those listed are hardy to 0oF or below.
alpinus. Rock aster. Our original selection differs from typical A. alpinus in its relatively smooth, shiny leaves and larger, darker flowers (similar to those of the clone ‘Goliath’). This is a tightly matting plant with 4-6" basal leaves. In spring it is decorated by many large daisies of deep lavender with orange centers, held above the foliage on 6-8" stems. We are now pleased to add the variety albus, very similar except for pure white flowers with gold centers.
amellus ‘King George’ is one of the parents of the next selection and in some respects even more attractive, though it is little known in California. It forms dense crowns of hairy, grey green leaves from which branched 2' stems rise in summer, displaying sprays of large lavender flower heads with gold centers.
x frikartii. This is a bushy hybrid, growing about 2’ tall, with fuzzy greyish green leaves. It produces an abundance of 2½" lavender daisies with gold centers from late spring to fall. The traditional favorite was ‘Wonder of Stafa’. However, ‘Monch’ is a somewhat sturdier, bushier plant, and alleged to have slightly darker flowers (I have never had the two side by side at one time for comparison).
lateriflorus. Eastern U.S. This is a robust perennial, making small thickets from a rhizomatous base. The leafy stems are up to 3’ tall, with broad basal leaves and lance-shaped stem leaves 2-6" long. The flower heads are borne in branched clusters along the upper stems in September and October. Individual heads are a little over ½” broad, usually with white to pink rays. ‘Lady in Black’, received from Rijnbeek & Sons, has blackish purple stems and leaves and white flower heads with deep purple centers. ‘Prince’ is similar, with more pink shading in the flowers .
Michaelmas hybrids (A. nova-angliae x A. nova-belgii). Though they range from low mats to erect 4' plants, these hybrids all share certain common features. They clump freely and spread by rhizomes to form impressive masses of blooming stems. All have narrow dark green leaves, particularly dense at the base, and flower heads of various bright colors, borne in dense clusters in late summer and fall. Two selections of medium height (up to 2') are ‘Big Blue’, with blue-violet flowers, and ‘Winston Churchill’, with flowers of rich crimson. ‘Tiny Tot’ remains under 6" high and covers itself with bright purple blossoms. Very close to these are selections of A. nova-belgii itself. Current offerings include ‘Alert’, a bushy 10-15" selection with crimson flowers; ‘Professor Kippenberg’, a little taller, with lavender-blue flowers; and ‘Snow Flurry’, again in the 10-15" range, with masses of pure white flowers.