- Botanical name: Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
- Light: full sun, part shade
- Water needs: low, medium
- Soil: clay, loam, sand
- Height: 2 – 3 ft
- Bloom: September – November
- Sociability: 2
- Wildlife value: Supports many species of specialized bees
An excellent substitute for chrysanthemums, Aromatic aster is one of the TN Valley Wild Ones members’ favorite asters. Run your hand through the leaves throughout the year to smell its wonderful fragrance. As a member of the aster family, it is an important pollinator host for late fall when many other plants have started to go dormant.
Though it is herbaceous, Aromatic aster has somewhat woody stems and looks like a small shrub by the fall. If you would like to keep it shorter, give it a “Chelsea chop” or two (cut back the stems by 1/3 to 1/2) between June and August.
The cultivars “October Skies” and “Raydon’s Favorite” are both slightly more compact if you have a small garden bed.
Spreading notes: Will self seed readily.
Maintenance notes: Stems can be cut back in winter to provide nesting habitat for bees. Can split the plant in spring or fall to propagate.
Sources: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/, https://www.wildflower.org/plants/, https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/plantfindersearch.aspx
