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Can New England Asters be improved?

10 years ago

I adore New England Asters for their rich colored blooms that swarm with insects as the sun sinks southward for autumn and winter. However, as beautiful as the tops are, the bottoms are brown and crumpled and dead-looking. Is there any way to minimize the horrible bottom look? I do try to plant other things in front to hide their shame, but it's not satisfactory. Is this just a normal part of their life cycle? Or is it an illness or lack of water or something that can be treated? I'd like to avoid chemicals that would harm pollinating insect, since they are the whole purpose of the garden. I'm predicting the same response as in the past--sorry, deal with it,--but if anyone has anything different to say, I'd love to hear that, too.

Martha

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Comments (5)

sunnyborders
10 years ago
Definitely find New England asters need relatively frequent division to keep them looking healthy.

I probably divide them on an average of every three years.

The wild ones here run (prospecting for nutrients). It makes sense that the cultivated clump forming ones need periodic division with soil upgrading.

I like them as tall as they grow, so don't reduce their height.
christinmk z5b eastern WA
10 years ago
First few attempts with them years ago failed. Since then I figured out what works best for them, at least here. They do well in areas that don't stress them at all. AT ALL. So no competition from shrub/tree roots & in soil that doesn't dry out excessively (mine are planted slightly sunken). After figuring it out and finding the right situations for them (believe me, they are few and far between!!) there hasn't been too much bottom foliage issues, which there was plenty of in the beginning, lol.
CMK
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Lovely. One of the very best fall blooming asters (and perennials) here. One thing I can really identify with above is bogturtle's referring to the need to periodically divide New England asters. I do need to divide ours every three years to have them continually look their best. 'Purple Dome' aside, I like the typical heights of New England asters and they do well at the back, or in the centre, of mixed perennial beds. True, our beds are thinned out by fall, but there are still some shorter perennial blooms and there's always the option of adding fall mums to the front/outside of the bed in the fall. Below: September 22, 2104. Purchased that mauve No Name New England aster over twenty years ago. Many divisions have spread it to many gardens. Think it's certainly worth the labour.
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Here's where it gets confusing, there are two Asters with the same name. Purple Dome, Novae-Angliae the New England Aster can grow to 24". Purple Dome, Novi-Belgii the New York Aster can grow to 36". I imagine in different growing conditions the heights will vary some. If your Aster is nearing 4 feet yours is probably the New York Purple Dome. Many Asters along with Chrysanthemums and other plants are treated with a growth retardant so they don't get too tall which is good for displaying them in the garden centers. The following year in the garden they usually grow to their normal height. If you give your Aster a couple of pinches early in the season you cam reduce the height somewhat. Annette
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I also give my Asters a "haircut" in June sometime. This makes them bushier and more compact, less prone to flopping, but it does delay the bloom time by a week or two. I also trim many other perennials, like Solidago, Helianthus, Phlox, Rudbeckia, etc. for the same reason. Use some small hedge clippers which make short work of trimming and shaping the perennials. You could consider leaving the Asters in place, and digging or making a lasagne bed in front of the Asters and planting other perennials there and keeping the Asters weeded out. This would hide the scraggly legs that A. novae-angliae always seems to get. Or selectively weed out some of the big Asters in your bed. If you have Craigslist or Freecycle in your area, you can offer the extras free and people will come and dig them up for you! Your asters are pretty though. Bet you have zillions of bees all over them.
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aachenelf z5 Mpls
10 years ago
I agree with CMK. These plants do not handle stress very well. I've been extremely diligent with watering mine during this blasted drought we're in and everything looks great this year - no dead leaves at the bottom.

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sandyslopes z5 n. UT
10 years ago
The only ones I have with browning near the bottom are the ones that weren't getting enough water. I found out that some of my darn rainbirds don't always move back and forth, letting some areas dry out too much. The asters with enough water are all green, but sprawling over walkways like crazy. But the bees are going crazy for them all.
sunnyborders
10 years ago
Think renovating beds maintains the wider distribution of locations in which New England asters thrive in gardens.

Example (re above comments): I periodically hack out the nasty (superficial) roots of the neighbouring silver maples that invade our front flower beds. Have lots of healthy 'Alma PÃÂ¶tschke' in the front.

I'd consider adequate watering, when necessary, part of the the general maintenance of mixed perennial beds.

Find I have to stake all of our New England aster, except 'Purple Dome'.

Would be interesting to know what annual maintenance was done to maintain a Michaelmas daisy (fall) "room" in large Sissinghurst type gardens.

This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 10:23

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