I planted a little butterfly garden on the side of my house a couple years back. I’d like to get these growing in my backyard also, what would be the best method to get that started this fall?
by carly5932
I planted a little butterfly garden on the side of my house a couple years back. I’d like to get these growing in my backyard also, what would be the best method to get that started this fall?
by carly5932
11 Comments
My asters went wild (NE asters). I have too many (the monarchs disagree). They self seeded all over. Take ripe seeds and scatter them . They will grow. NE asters are too tall for the space, so I cut them back viciously and they are blooming like crazy now. I will deadhead some of them because 0therwise there will be no space left to grow vegetables, which is my primary purpose, though the fringe benefits of growing native plants and watching the insects.
https://preview.redd.it/zduz4mxhwrsf1.jpeg?width=2808&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26fb55f087638ed5e8ab0decfe53de9ec10b6038
These would be about five feet tall if I had not cut them back ore than once.
You can try collecting seeds when they go to seed. Both aster and goldenrod seeds need cold stratification, so they need time in the cold to sprout. You can try planting the seeds this fall where you want the plants, or you can plant them in milk jugs to have out over the winter to get started and plant in the spring. If you aren’t familiar, just look up “milk jug winter sow” to find how-to instructions.
Don’t mow the area and they will just appear after a couple years
I planted ONE of these in my backyard two years ago, and this Fall I have well over 20 of them. They self seed like crazy. Once these go to seed, scatter them in the area you want them to grow. They’ll pop up next Summer.
You can divide them after they bloom or in the spring. Another option is collecting the seeds and planting those. If these plants have gone to seed before, you probably also have a lot of seedlings you could transplant.
Take good pics of their leaves so you recognize them in early spring, then dig up and divide and water regularly. Don’t do it now (from experience. Don’t transplant plants in bloom – they die easily, even the strong ones like these).
An important step is to eliminate all rabbits. I’m not allowed to in my town, and thus, no asters in my yard.
check if you have a native plant group nearby! lots of them put on seed swaps in the fall and plant swaps in the spring. I got several asters this year from people who had too many and were dividing them, and they’re all blooming now. then you can pass it on when yours start taking over.
When these go to seed- cut the stems and drag the deadheads around your garden- where you want them to grow.
I’d suggest moving them both.
They have a rhizomatic root system that you probably don’t want anywhere near your perimeter drain system.
Shift them to where you want them, and they’ll spread on their own.
I was able to start NE Asters (which didn’t get the vivid purple that yours did; they’re lighter purple and pinky-purple) by starting them over winter (both in seed starter trays with a cover and in milk jugs). They didn’t look too great and were pretty spindly when I planted them in late May, but they’re all 3′ tall and covered in blossoms now.
They’re interspersed with some liatris (also found where I harvested the seeds) but unless I’m aggressive about aster control they look like they’ll swallow the blazingstars next year.