Yup, sounds like a wild Aster alright. Those roots are what makes them invasive as heck. Besides that, they drop teeny, tiny seeds every winter and make babies. They are beautiful flowers though in late summer. I allow them to grow at the edge of the yard where the woodlands begin. Still, I have to cull them out of the irises in front of them. Here is the description in my North American Wildlife book, Pg 451: "Blue Wood Aster (Aster cordifolius) SIZE: 1-4 ft tall; flowerhead 1/2-1 in. wide. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: flowerhead with short blue or violet ray flowers around yellow central disk; clusters in branching stems; (lower) leaves heart-shaped (cordate), toothed, hairy (upper leaves are oval to lanceolate and smaller). HABITAT: open woods, thickets, clearings. In Bloom: Aug-Oct." These like moist, but well-drained soil where there is plenty of leaf mulch or sandy soils that holds moisture. They send out stolens from parent plants to make new plants - colonizing an area, AND drop seeds. They are self-pollinating hermaphrodites. It could be the Leafy Aster, lance-shaped leaves, or Stiff Aster(grows in dry areas). There is the White Heath Aster (we have these growing up in the meadow; beautiful, fragrant white flowers in spring. Their leaves have a smell much like that of turpentine. Their stems are so tough that they can break mowing blades (we found this out) and their stubble can puncture tires (ditto experiences). The pioneers used the dried stems to make crude brooms. (those Cinnamon-scented brooms you can buy around Christmas are made of this aster's dried stems. New England Asters (1-7 ft tall) with sticky stems, lanced leaves clasped to the stems. There are many more - over 600 species that show up in people's gardens, with more than 150 of them native to North America alone. What none of the websites selling them tell you is how invasive they are. I believe you have the Blue Wood Aster. We have many different species growing on our property in one place or another. Below is a link to see the flowers of the Blue Wood Aster: Here is a link that might be useful: Native North American Blue Wood Asters

A house I formerly lived in was an early nineteenth-century stone farmhouse. When my housemates were breaking ground for an extensive vegetable garden, they found three tombstones scattered in an old field on the property - a mother's and father's, presumably, and a much smaller stone for a child. These were almost certainly marking the grave sites of the original residents. I can't remember if the incriptions were legible or what they might have been. The tombstones were the very thin ones typical of very old graveyards in my area. They gave the stones place of honor in the main room of the farmhouse near its hearth. It sounds macabre to some, I suppose, but we all felt like they kind of belonged there, and that the family they belonged to became a kind of presence in the house once again. I've long lost contact with those housemates but did learn that they moved on. I do hope that the tombstones remained on the property or were taken to a local historical society. cranebill

Hi Cena, Yeah, it's very quiet over here, for a while now, guess folks are busy w/ other things. I commented on this series of pix at the Houseplant post. Very nice plant. Interesting Q abt the crack in the stems, don't know the answer, but would guess just alcohol sprayed at the cracks would do, don't know that anti-fungal is necessary. This cracking stem stuff must happen in the wild 'cause these stems & leaves are so darn heavy. Mine only has one long bald vine so I can train it upward, but I'd guess this plant's natural orientation is to hang, again, 'cause of the heavy stems. I'm guessing that when my bald vine starts leafing out, its weight alone is gonna pull it downwards. If it were mine, I think I'd consider taking cuttings from the more cracked stems, rooting them & putting them back in the Mama pot. Personally, I prefer these looking leafy at the top of the pot like yours has, more than long, hanging, leafed out vines (which you also have), but I think that's just personal taste. Sorry I don't have more constructive suggestions to offer; enjoy, whatever you decide.

Kim - Won't have them for the summer swap, but I'll have plenty of all blue and all red to share, come the fall or spring swap. Plus Purple Majesty. Just remind me when it comes around. After the swap my initial shipment came in so my garden is like a forest of spuds. I ended up with 5 lbs of seed spuds in all blue. I'll also have LOADS of J-chokes if anyone wants any. We're still keeping you and hubby in our prayers. Stay strong! Doors are opening and I pray they bring a miraculous outcome...I know it's hard....but know you have many here pulling for the two of you. Wanted to post a quick update. As I've been posting, I've been experimenting with the grape cuttings, to see how late they would root. I've been told they have to be taken in the late fall or winter and I've been told they won't root any time but early Spring, before they come out of dormancy, so I decided to prove that to myself....I took a few cuttings on Easter, April 12th and they have rooted beautifully, but also took cuttings on April 26th and they are beginning to root like crazy too. I'm not sure, at this point, what kind of success rate the 26th cuttings will have, but they are beginning to shoot roots everywhere. Had a 9-1 rate with the 12th cuttings, so I'll keep track of the 26th cuttings. This was the bagging method AND I pinched off any larger leaf growth to force energy back down in the stem. They are now starting new leaf growth. Did the same with some new kiwi cuttings. Had to pinch out new growth from the kiwis, but they appear to be pushing roots. I don't know the success rate, but they all look good so far. I'll post again when I know. Oh bless her heart, I was in a swap with another GW'r and she sent me some REALLY Special cuttings. She started them before she sent them, so I walked her through the process, but she did such a great job! When I received the packages of cuttings, one of the cuttings already had roots over 1/4 inch long. If that isn't just amazing!!!!!!!! I love cuttings!!!!!!! I'M HOOKED!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR OPENING THIS DOOR MARK!!!!! If a new thread is opened I'll post some more pics... Oh I want to see more pics of others roots and successes. If anyone needs help posting pics, please let me know, it's very easy, I'd be happy to help. Toni