It’s hard to resist posting photos of the late-flowering, Southeast US native, Symphyotrichum (Aster) elliottii. It’s namesake was SC Natural History and Botany Professor, Steven Elliott (1771-1830). After most of the garden has shut down for fall, this amazing and exceedingly vigorous aster bursts into flower, quickly becoming a landing pad for an array of pollinators. Like another NC native, Jimmy Donaldson, this is also a beast, but in the garden. A single plant, when happy, will spread to form a 7′ tall x 10′ wide solid, weed-choking mass. In the wild, it can be found naturally growing in ditches, swamps, and edges of salt marshes, but in the garden, can tolerate average moisture soils. Our clump was planted in 1997, has survived 1 degree F, so it’s winter hardiness is probably much greater than the typically repeated Zone 8a. We’re certain that it’s fine in Zone 7a, and probably further north.
Mine is blooming beautifully – after years of doing nothing in the same spot. It is against the side of a lattice abuting our deck. East exposure. Zone 7a.