Are you looking for a bit of fall color in your garden beds? Asters are your answer. These stunning perennials are popular across North America, especially in pollinator gardens. Plant one variety, or choose several of the hundreds in this genus and plant family for a garden full of wildlife and color throughout summer and fall.Asters are a genus of plants with captivating star-shaped flowers that carpet garden landscapes throughout fall. Asters are easy to grow and are one of the few plants that flower reliably in the cooler season. This can help extend the color of spring and summer longer than most other perennials.
These plants are also low maintenance and produce masses of flowers with very little effort. The flowers come in a wide range of colors, from softer blues and purples to bright, luminescent red. They also attract a wide range of pollinators and are beloved by bees when the other flowers in your garden die down.
With a choice of over 600 plants (either part of the aster genus or previously part of the aster genus still known as asters, but we’ll clear up that confusion later), there is an aster out there for every gardener. Fill your beds and containers with these lively plants for fall interest and a garden full of pollinators for years to come.
The name aster derives from the Ancient Greek for ‘star’, describing the star-like shape of the flowers. While there isn’t much known about the origins and spread of this popular plant, we do know when they gained their popularity.
Around the 18th century, when plant collecting and studies were beginning to take off, botanists traveled the world in search of new and interesting plant varieties. Asters fell high on that list due to their variety and stunning flowers.
Brought back to Europe from North America, Asters perfectly suited the wilder, more informal cottage garden style exploding around Victorian England. The flowers were grown across the country, becoming somewhat of an obsession. The plants were hybridized and cross-bred to create the dramatic diversity in color and size we have today.
Aster can be a confusing genus. Up until the 1990s, asters comprised over 600 species of plants. That number has since been reduced to around 180 due to the reclassification of some of the plants. Some flowers previously known as asters are now labeled Eucephalus, Oreostemma, or Symphyotrichum, among many others.
However, don’t let the botanical naming conventions confuse you. Most of these plants are still commonly known as asters, even if they aren’t technically part of the aster genus. They also all have similar growing conditions and care requirements, depending on the cultivar.
There are several ways to propagate asters, each producing relatively reliable results. For those who want full control of the growing process, start by growing from seed. Existing plants with plenty of growth can be divided after a few years. Alternatively, you can steal a few cuttings from your neighbors garden (prior permission recommended) and propagate that way.