Description
Keystone Value: The genus Aster (Aster) supports over 90 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars, providing food for a variety of birds and mammals.
Smooth aster is a lovely perennial typically occurring in prairies, dry open woods, roadside banks and thickets. It gets stunning violet/purple flowers with yellow centers in open, loose clusters in autumn. This makes it a necessary late-season food source for butterflies and pollinators. This plant looks fantastic in borders, cottage gardens and meadows. It is tolerant of drought, erosion, and dry or shallow-rocky Soil. Additionally, aster has no insect or disease concerns, and is extremely resistant to mildew making it an excellent low maintenance addition to any garden!
This species is a host plant for the lovely Pearl Crescent butterfly, pictured above.
