Earlier blooming fall aster for drier soil. Slowly forms wider clumps.
Purple-blue 1″+ flowers on wiry stems.
Blooming Time: June/July to July/August (depending on your zone and soils), flowers for about 3 weeksSize: about 20″ tall and wide, slowly spreading into wider clumpsUSDA Zones: 5/6 to 9 (the hardiness is mentioned zone 6, but we find this plant very tough and hardy, especially on drained soil)Culture: sun to partial sun to drier half shade, average to drained/drier soils, gritty rocky or sandy, average soils that tend to dry out fast (slopes, dry edges). Moisture Needs: dry, medium-dryOrigin: native to AL, AR, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX. Grows naturally in dry to mesic prairies, savannas, glades roadsides and other open habitatsDeer/Rabbit Resistant: not verified, most likely yesAttracts Butterflies or Pollinators: yes/yesAttracts Hummingbirds: noPot Size: square 3.5″ x 4″ perennial pot (1.22 pt/580 ml)
Pictures copyright: Mt. Cuba
Plant combinations: Sunny flower beds, pollinator gardens, butterfly gardens, dry slopes, sunny woodland edges. Good perennial combinations will be with smaller native perennials or nativars of Allium, Artemisia, Asclepias tuberosa, Blephillia ciliata, Dalea, Echinacea, Erigeron pulchellus, Euphorbia corollata, Coreopsis, Monarda bradburiana, Monarda punctata, Oenothera missouriensis, O. perennis, O. fruticosa, Penstemon hirsutus or other Penstemon species, Phlox subulata, Phlox bifida, Sisyrinchium and other shorter, drought tolerant perennials. From grasses choose Boutelloa gracilis, Koleria cristata, Muhlenbergia, smaller cultivars of Sporobolus, or non native Seslerias. Great non-native companions can be smaller Peonia, smaller Eryngium, bearded Iris, Lavandula, small Nepeta, Satureja, Thymus and many more drought tolerant plants.
