Aromatic Aster

Aromatic Aster is a robust native perennial that has cheerful late-season blooms. Producing highly branched stems with a bushy appearance, plants are completely covered by flowers in autumn. They provide late-season nectar to long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, small to medium-sized butterflies, and skippers. Aromatic Aster is also host to the caterpillars of the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly. Found throughout the Great Plains as far west as Wyoming and Texas, and in isolated populations from Pennsylvania south to North Carolina, Aromatic Aster grows on dry prairies, limestone glades, rocky bluffs, and other challenging sites. It thrives in dry areas, and can adapt to any well-drained soil. Give plants room to spread in the garden. Aromatic aster looks lovely planted en masse alongside yellow, late-season blooms like Goldenrod, Helenium, and Coreopsis. It also performs well amongst native ornamental grasses.