My favorite nature podcast, The Field Guides, released part one of their visit with Jason Dombroskie, a Cornell University entomologist. Calico Aster is very common throughout the United States east of the Mississippi, though, so if you want Calico Aster you likely just need to stop weeding it out of your landscape and let it multiply. You likely won’t see these plants at your local nursery, but you could order seeds from a native plant nursery. When you imagine a classic pioneer-style calico print fabric composed of these flowers, you’ll forever be able to identify it in the wild. The plant is more flower than foliage, and as the blooms age they turn from a white color to a purplish hue. The blooms are quite tiny-under a half-inch in diameter-and copious. It blooms in the fall and is frequented by beneficial insects. White Woodland Aster, another common name for it, is much more flattering. This sloppy aesthetic is probably why a few of its other common names are Side-Flowering Aster and Starved Aster. It grows up to 3 feet tall, but has a scraggly, leaning habit that makes it look like it is running along the ground. Each Aster has a spray of long, slender stems pushing out that can reach between eight and 12 on each plant.
#Calico aster full#
I’ll admit that I weed this one out of my garden but am pleased when I see it growing in the park or along the side of a road. The Calico Aster can be grown in areas of a garden ranging from full sun to part-shade with the full sun only tolerated when the ground is not too moist or saturated. Careful pinching and thinning is easy with asters and great for promoting healthy plants and abundant blooms.ĭeadheading spent blooms throughout the growing season can also promote additional flowering.In this edition of “flower or weed?” we have Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum). The new growth on the top of a stem is the dominant one, and by removing that you encourage the side branches to grow by diverting more nutrients to them. The thin hairy stems go from green to deep red as the season progresses. These plants are fairly hardy, capable of withstanding drought and tolerant to a range of soil nutrient content. Pinching promotes the growth of more blooms because it encourages more branching in the aster plant. The calico aster is a large plant native to eastern and central North America.
Pinch asters from midspring to early summer. Pinch them off just above the node for the best results. You will pinch off the growing tips and the first sets of leaves on stems of the plant. As the name of the technique suggests, all you need to do this is your fingers. Pinching is the aster plant pruning strategy to use if your main goal is to maximize the number of flowers you get from one plant. About one in three stems is a good general rule for cutting back asters. To thin your aster, cut off entire stems at the base in the spring. Thinning is the best strategy to prevent mildew if this is a concern in your beds. There are several ways to prune perennials, but asters respond best to two strategies: thinning and pinching. Finally, by pruning asters, you will get a greater abundance of flowers throughout the growing season.
Thinning them out will also keep your plants healthy and reduce the risk of mildew developing.
Pruning them back can prevent the need to stake them and give the plants more pleasing shapes. Especially if you have rich soil, these flowers will grow abundantly. Calico Aster (Aster lateriflorum), Side-Flowering Aster, Starved Aster or White Woodland Aster is an herbaceous, somewhat bushy perennial that typically. One is simply to maintain a shape and size that you like. Do Asters Need to Be Pruned?Īsters do not strictly need to be pruned, but there are some good reasons to do it. To do it well you only need a few tips on perennial pruning. Pruning is also useful if you have asters that grow too vigorously and are taking over your beds. Aster plant pruning is a must if you want to keep these perennial flowers healthy and blooming abundantly.
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