New England Asters Make Purple
In a year and a half, they will bestow purple benedictions...
I started seeds of New England Aster today. They must abide 60 days of damp and cold before they can sprout. It’s their own rule, not mine. It keeps them from germinating too soon and saves tender seedlings from perishing in the Iowa winter. Enduring those two months is how the seeds will know when spring has come.
For now, they’re in a box of damp potting mixture in my fridge. I’ll bring them out on April 1 and put them under lights in my dining room. Then they’ll sprout.
In spring they should grow into sturdy little plants. Of course, they won’t bloom this year. This native wildflower is a perennial, and it will spend a full year making roots and getting strong. The following year, in 2024, they will blossom in the prairie wildflower garden.
The leaves clasp the stem. The leaves of New England Aster hug the stem. Many other plants have a stem-handle, called a petiole, between leaf and stem. But New England Aster leaves fit tightly around the stems, with no petiole.
The buds don’t open until fall. Throughout the summer, buds develop gradually at the tips of delicate branches, like a thousand tight little fists. When summer is nearly over, New England Aster opens its hands to reveal the colors it's been hiding all summer.
Microscopic resiny droplets coat tiny hairs on the leaves. Click Photo C, above, to see droplets on the base of the flower that are visible only under magnification. Infinitesimal glands produce the droplets, and the botanical word to describe the characteristic is glandular. It’s one of the things to look for when you’re identifying New England Asters.
Its scientific name is Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. It is a favorite flower in gardens in England and other parts of the world. However, it is native to North America.
How kind is this aster?
Of all the asters that bloom in fall, the New England Aster is the most dramatic. Brightest, biggest, and a favorite of the insects. It’s an important source of food, coming after most other flowers are done.
Flower flies (Photo C, above) especially love this aster. Flower flies resemble miniature bees. They eat nectar and pollen. They do not sting. And they are important pollinators.
I think this flower offers a pretty good bargain. I plant some seeds and tend a few plants. Once established, it doesn’t require watering or fertilizing. A year and half after today’s beginning, New England Asters will bestow their purple benedictions.
This was a great read to start my day. Thank you for tending to nature so consistently and thank you for writing it all down to share. ❤️
Well....gosh! What can one SAY? Your dedication to the lifespan and amazing detaily details about this and other of nature's wonders is...really...quite...mind-boggling, Diane. Your love for the research, nurturing, and...obvious pure enjoyment of all things nature is...well, very inspiring indeed! Thanks so much!