Pic - Native White Heath Aster

14 years ago

I finally took an hour ATV tour over part of the farm looking for wildflowers. I just saw golden rod, white aster, eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot) and the yellow ones down below the pond. I was hoping for ironweed. I didn't do the east side of the farm, will do that another time.

This is the white aster that I left growing in the HB bed and the front ditch. According to my Denison book, I think it is aster pilosus, or white heath aster.

It has a tiny little flower. I cut the ones down in the ditch yesterday but left the one in the HB bed. I think I should have reversed that.

I am sure you all have these growing everywhere in roadside ditches. I also took a picture of the eupatorium I mistakenly planted in the yard two years ago. I am still trying to get rid of it! The goldenrod looks very bright and healthy growing in the middle of unmowed pasture. It must like the dry.

This is the snakeroot:

It seems to prefer growing in low shady areas on the farm.

I didn't find any passion flower. I guess the regular mowing got rid of them.

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Comments (5)

christie_sw_mo
14 years ago
Pretty Glenda!
I don't have many interesting wildflowers around our place. I've seen some along the ditch I'd like to stop and investigate though. I can't remember seeing much ironweed this year. The one that I planted in my yard bloomed some time ago. We have lots in our field. It just doesn't get a chance to bloom because we cut it for hay. City Utilities has been working very hard on cutting back trees and cleaning out fence rows around here. Some of the fence rows look like they've been sprayed and lots of stuff was cut out. A lot of the wild flowers are gone but brush too. There are trees that look like they've been pruned 20 feet or more from the road.

I have eupatorium 'Chocolate' which I think is a cultivar of e. rugosum like yours above. It reseeds heavily. I get voluteers coming up all summer long and try to keep them pulled out. Some of them have purplish leaves and some have green leaves. It's hard to keep the mama plant deadheaded unless I just prune it at the base which I need to do pretty soon or it will be too late. Someone sent me Joe Pye Weed with a trade last summer. I should probably prune that too.
helenh
14 years ago
I let the white snakeroot grow in my yard too; so far it hasn't spread. I don't like what I read about it poisoning milk. As kids we drank our cows' milk. Sometimes the weeds made it taste funny. I didn't know there was a weed that could poison the milk. I have lots of the blue ones; they have spread a lot. I don't mind but I may be sorry someday. My joe pye weed is new. I was just glad it grew. I have a some big flower heads I may put in a bag if the seeds haven't already fallen off.
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gldno1
Original Author
14 years ago
helen, my Joe Pye weed has never been very pretty. I see pictures of them that are a dark rose pink and just look wonderful.

I started them from seeds lots of years ago and have never been impressed. The color is so pale. I know one problem is they are in a very dry spot that I almost never water because it is across the yard east and I have to drag the hose a long way across the drive.

Christie, I see Empire District has been side pruning the trees in Willard. Anything near the line are being lobbed off. I haven't seen Ozark Electric out anywhere in our area. They are the ones we are on.

There is another white scabiosa -like white flower all along AC out toward our place. Next time out, I am stopping and taking pics. I want some seed too. It looks garden worthy to me. It is about 40 inches tall and very airy; might be a nice filler to grow up around iris.

Helen and Christie, can you both post a picture of your Joe Pye weed? Mine just may be a bad variety.

glenda
helenh
14 years ago
Glenda they take a moist spot. I have tried them before and lost them. Mine is in the tomato garden and has weeds around it. I have noticed in NG Park that it takes up lots of room and isn't always beautiful but has its time to shine like most plants. It is kind of like a shrub a backbone to the garden.
mulberryknob
14 years ago
This is sure a good wildflower year here with all the rain all summer. AND.... because we never did get all the limbs picked up in the woody areas around our place that we usually weedeat a couple times a summer, we now have more than ever visible from the house. Lots of the purple and white eupatorium, asters, goldenrod, white crownbeard, yellow ironweed, perrenial sunflowers. It's lovely but next year I will have it cleaned back up because I want to walk my woodland paths in the summer. i will leave clumps and islands though as I've enjoyed them so this year.
This year we did good to clear the areas around the house that we mow.

Pic - Native White Heath Aster

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Pic - Native White Heath Aster

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