Symphyotrichum spp.
Origin: Maine
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: ~150
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
If you're looking for fall-blooming native wildflowers to fill an empty patch in your garden, re-wild a vacant lot, or just feed the bees during a lean season, this wood aster mix is for you! It comes our way from our good friend and collaborator Aarong Parker of Edgewood Nursery in Falmouth, Maine. Here's what he has to say about it:
"This region has over 20 species of Symphyotrichum, many of them tricky to identify down to the species level. This mix contains seeds from several individual plants growing wild at Edgewood Nursery, probably spanning a couple species: Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) and Heart-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) are likely suspects, but I’m not exactly sure of the species in this mix. Whatever the species, these plants thrive in part shade and are adaptable to near full shade and near full sun. They bloom late in the season and provide food for a wide variety of pollinators as well as a burst of color as the season fades into winter. These are local ecotype seeds grown at Edgewood Nursery, from a population that predates the nursery. These seeds can likely be sown in spring, but fall or winter sowing is fine too. Surface sow, or just barely cover with light sand."
