Virginia ecotype - Caroline County
- Duration: Perennial
- Habit: Upright, spreading, clump-forming
- Size: Typically 1 to 3 feet tall; spreads 1.5 to 2.5 feet wide
- Flowering Time: August to October
- Bloom Color: Lavender to bluish-purple with yellow centers
- Habitat: Dry open woodlands, forest edges, rocky slopes, sandy soils, prairies, and roadsides
- Moisture: Dry to average; must be well-drained soils
- Light: Full sun to part shade; best in full sun
- Soils: Sandy, loamy, clay, or rocky soils; tolerant of poor, infertile soils
- Uses: Pollinator gardens, dry woodland edges, native borders, meadow plantings, erosion control on slopes, difficult to plant areas
Symphyotrichum patens (Late purple aster)
Symphyotrichum patens, commonly known as late purple aster or spreading purple aster, is a fall blooming wildflower with an airy form and vivid bluish-purple flowers. Reaching 1 to 3 feet in height, it forms loose colonies via short rhizomes or self-seeding, making it an ideal plant for naturalizing in droughty, xeric, sunny or lightly shaded conditions.
Its flowers feature lavender ray petals surrounding golden centers, providing an important splash of color late in the growing season. In particular these vivid blooms contrast well with white blooming asters and the golden yellow of goldenrods, or the fall-cured dry stems of native grasses such as Andropogons and Little bluestem.
Symphyotrichum patens is a key resource for fall pollinators, attracting native bees, butterflies, skippers, and beetles. It also serves as a host plant for butterfly species such as the pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos) and supports a range of specialist native bees that rely on asters for pollen.
We have seen this species growing in the most dry, nutrient-poor soils, where it thrives and spreads without issue. It also is adapted to grow in part sun, open forested or wood edges, and will spread and bloom profusely.