Do you want to plant asters in your garden? Then it can be quite difficult to decide between the numerous types and varieties on the market. Get some tips here!
Which types of asters are particularly popular?
Popular asters varieties include spring asters such as 'Wartburgstern' and 'Dark Beauty', summer asters such as 'King George' and 'Violet Queen' and autumn asters such as 'Kassel', 'Apollo', 'Memories of Paul' Gerber' and 'Sea of Flowers'. These provide color and bee-friendliness in the garden.
The most famous spring asters – the mountain aster and the early summer aster
The types of asters that bloom in spring include the Alpine aster and early summer aster. Both types of asters are rather small at 20 to 30 cm, but have large leaves. They bloom from May to June.
How about the early summer aster 'Wartburgstern' or 'Leuchtenburg'? The former has blue-purple flowers and the latter has violet flowers. However, recommended varieties of Alpine aster are:
- 'Dark Beauty' (purple)
- ‘Albus’ (white)
- ‘Happy Ending’ (pink)
Popular varieties of summer asters
The summer asters bloom from July. The golden hair aster and the mountain aster are popular. The golden hair aster looks rather untypical for asters. Its flowers are sun-like, bright golden yellow and spherical.
Here are some popular mountain asters (also known as lime asters):
- 'King George' with lilac flowers
- ‘Dr. Otto Petschek' with lavender blue flowers
- 'Lady Hindlip' with dark pink flowers
- 'Violet Queen' with dark purple flowers
3 important autumn asters
Profusely blooming and valuable for the bee world – these are the autumn asters. Important among them are the cushion asters, the smooth-leaf asters and the rough-leaf asters. Popular varieties of cushion aster:
- ‘Kassel’
- ‘Apollo’
- ‘Niobe’
- ‘Rose Gnome’
- ‘Blue Glacier’
- ‘Lady in Blue’
The rough-leaf aster is considered to be less robust than the smooth-leaf aster. It impresses with flowers in a wide variety of colors - from red, pink, blue, purple to white. For example, the varieties 'Souvenir of Paul Gerber', 'Barr's Pink', 'Herbstschnee' and 'Violetta' are well known.
The smooth-leaf aster is considered the most important species. Its flowers are either pink or blue. It grows loosely like a clump and can reach heights of up to 1.40 m. Varieties we recommend here: 'Blossom Sea', 'Dauerblau', 'Karminkuppel' and 'Rosa Perle'.
Lesser known asters – insider tips
Less known, but still nice to see where they are located, are:
- White Forest Aster
- Blue Forest Aster
- Heartleaf Aster
- Pyrenean Aster
- Wildaster
- Myrtenaster
- Dwarf Wild Aster
Tip
How about reserving an entire bed for asters? Simply plant a colorful mix of spring, summer and autumn asters! So you can enjoy the flowers all year round.
