Approximately 100 seeds per packet
Collected & Packaged: 2025
Germination code: C60
Please refer to our germination codes and growing information for recommendations and tips.
Seed treatment recommended: this species requires a minimum of 60 days of cold moist stratification to break its natural dormancy and encourage germination. Alternatively, sow seeds in outdoor containers in the fall or winter, with germination occurring in the spring.
Surface sow only: this species has small seeds that require light to germinate. Sown seed should only be sprinkled over and pressed lightly onto the surface of pre-moistened soil, and not covered or buried. Water lightly with a light spray or mist to keep the soil moist. Be careful when watering before germination occurs to not bury the seeds. (Optional) Sprinkling a thin layer of sterile sand or vermiculite overtop the soil and sown seeds usually won't negatively impact germination, and may help to maintain soil moisture and deter mold.
Chrysopsis mariana (Maryland golden-aster) Seed Packet
Virginia ecotype
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Low-growing, clumping
Size: 1–2 feet tall
Flowering Time: August–November
Bloom Color: Yellow
Habitat: Sandhills, fields, prairies, roadsides
Moisture: Dry to average, well draining
Light: Full sun to part sun, adaptable to shade but flowers best in sun
Soils: Sandy, clay, loam
Uses: front of border, wild low growing prairie, dry part sun to dappled light gardensChryopsis mariana, or Maryland goldenaster, grows spring to mid summer as a small basal rosette, emerging late summer with brilliant yellow daisy-like flowers that bloom into fall. The leaves are covered with fine, silvery hairs, giving the plant a soft, gray, fuzzy texture like lambs-ear.
Maryland goldenaster prefers loamy or sandy soils, as it is found in open woodlands, meadows, and hillsides, often brightening up dappled areas with poor, droughty, clay or rocky soils. It prefers at least half a day of light and performs best with more sun, but will bloom in part sun and some shade. This species will seed itself and spread slowly by short rhizomes to form a colony of late season golden blooms.
Most notably, Chrysopis genus flowers are an important food source, support many rare and uncommon pollen specialist bees, which have evolved to depend upon only a very select few flowers of this genus and closely related genuses to survive. The plant is a larval host to at least 5 caterpillar species.
Maryland goldenaster's low stature and tolerance of many difficult conditions make it a species that can do well in urban gardens. It can thrive in prairies with tall competition all around, or in rock gardens where little else grows