Symphyotrichum lanceolatum

Panicled Aster

• Full sun to partial shade
• Dry, average or wet soils
• 30" to 60" in height. Vigorous spreaders.
• Meadow or open woodland settings. May overwhelm in a conventional garden but would l ikely be fine in a mixed pollinator patch with other Asters, Milkweed and Goldenrod.

They thrive in part shade and in full, hot sun. They will grow in seasonally flooded areas, alongside wetland species like Joe-Pye-Weed and in dry settings, like along old parking lots and gravely ditches. The patches in the shade grow to 3-4’ in height, have an open airy form and spread quite quickly by rhizomes -every spring I dig a bunch that run about 4’ into the vegetable garden each year, pulling the long rhizomes with their centipede leg like side roots before planting the seeds for the annual crops.

The patches that I’ve seen in hot, dry, sunny areas grow to 2’ to 3’ in height and tend to form much denser patches. Their form is also much denser, creating an entirely different visual texture than those in moisture rich settings. These patches don’t seem to have the same rate of spread, seeming to form shorter rhizomes and completely filling the space, rather than wandering everywhere but leaving plenty of room for neighbours of other species.

Given their adaptability, I’d be inclined to include these in both wet and dry meadow planting, in sandy or clay-based soils. I’ve also seen them thriving is slightly acidic soils and in fairly shallow soils over limestone.

I do suspect that they are a bit too outgoing for most conventional garden settings, but if you don’t mind lots of exuberance, I wouldn’t tell you not to plant them.