New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
A native aster that fills late summer and fall with purple daisies, each with up to a hundred rays around a yellow centre, crowded by late bees and butterflies. It's lovely with goldenrod, in rain gardens and by ponds, and takes clay. Pinch it in spring for a bushier plant, and give it airflow against powdery mildew.
- Mature size
- 4.5 × 2.5 ft
- 1.4 × 0.8 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Medium to moist
- Blooms
- Aug–Sep
New England Aster at its mature size
A mature New England Aster grows 3 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden.
Through the year
What New England Aster looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Below ground · Dec–Apr
Dies back to the ground.
In leaf · May–Aug
Tall leafy upright stems of narrow green leaves, no flowers.
In flower · Sep–Oct
Top covered in purple daisies with yellow centres.
Fall · Nov
Fluffy tan seed heads, stems browning.
Photos
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Growing New England Aster
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, and the Midwest.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Rain garden and pollinators
- Leaves
- Dies back in winter
- Native to
- Eastern North America
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For New England Aster, that’s about 2.5 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See New England Aster in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other asters
Aromatic Aster
New England AsterAll drawn to the same scale.