Bluebird Smooth Aster

Bluebird is a smooth aster selected for flower count, covering itself more densely than the wild form and holding upright on arching stems that do not need staking. This selection of the native Symphyotrichum laeve grows 30 to 36 inches tall and 24 to 30 inches wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 8. Violet-blue daisies with yellow centers open in late autumn, at the very end of the season. Asters are a keystone genus, and this species draws late-season bees heavily, including specialists that feed on nothing else. It feeds pearl crescent caterpillars. The foliage is smooth and waxy with a blue-green cast, which sheds water and helps it resist the powdery mildew that disfigures other asters by September. The leaves stay clean into fall rather than browning off at the base. Smooth asters grow wild in prairies and dry open ground. Give it full sun and well-drained soil, and it handles drought once established. Rich or wet ground makes the stems soft and prone to leaning. It takes poor soil and moderate road salt, and deer generally leave it alone.