Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster

Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite'

Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster is a small mounding native perennial known for the minty scent of its foliage.  It sports a hairy stem with rough, hairy lance-like green leaves and flowers with the signature purple with orange-yellow centers that only blooms in fall.  The flowers are attractive to butterflies and bees.  Grows best in full sun and dry to medium well-drained soils.  Raydon's Favorite tolerates light shade and is fairly drought tolerant, but excessive dry conditions will reduce bloom.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Low maintenance plant. Susceptible to powdery mildew if soils poorly-drained. Can cut stalks after flowering to prevent self-seeding.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Wildlife Gardens, Naturalized Areas, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Stoke's Aster, Switch Grass, Bluestar 

IMAGES:  Photos by cultivar413, (1)  151029 127 Central Park - Conservatory Garden, South Garden, Symphyrotrichon oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' Aromatic Aster, (2)  151029 125 Central Park - Conservatory Garden, South Garden, Artemisia 'Powis Castle', Symphyrotrichon oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' Aromatic Aster, (3) Photo by David J. Stang,  Aster oblongifolius Raydons Favorite 1zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (4) Photo by David J. Stang,  Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Raydons Favorite 0zz,  CC BY-SA 4.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.