Douglas Aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
Douglas Aster is a wonderful, rambunctious late season perennial wildflower! An Oregon State University study looking at native plants and native pollinators found that Douglas Aster attracted the highest diversity of visiting bee species, as well as, the highest abundance of visiting bees compared to the other native flowers in the study. What a valuable pollinator plant!!
It can tolerate nearly any environmental condition - wet, dry, full sun, part shade, clay, salt spray, invasive weeds with sharp elbows, and other aggressive natives! It can be a bit of a thug in the garden making it best for the back of a flower bed or in a wilder garden patch. It blooms from August until frost and is very complimentary when grown with Golden Rod, which blooms around the same time. Size can very greatly. Most size estimates I have seen list Douglas Aster as growing 2-4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. My tallest plants grow nearly 6 feet tall each year and are approaching 2 feet wide now!
Each seed packet contains 100 seeds and germination instructions are included.
Douglas Aster at a glance
- Average growth dimensions - 2-6 feet tall x 2+ feet wide
- Dormancy - Winter deciduous
- Plant type - Perennial herb
- Sun - Full sun - part shade
- Water - Moist - dry
- Flowering time - June - Mid-October
- Flower color - Purple - purplish-white
- Soil preference - Highly adaptable