Symphyotrichum cordifolium
Heart Leaved Aster
- Part shade preferred, will grow in full sun. Will tolerate fairly deep shade but with limited blooming.
- Average soil preferred, also grows well in dry, sandy soils in part shade.
- 24" to 40" tall, spreads to form a patch but not at an overwhelming rate (similar to Monarda, which makes a good garden companion for these)
- Garden, meadow and woodland settings.
Hairy Beardtongue steals the show in my urban Ottawa garden in June; Heart-leaved Aster steals it in September. It amazes me that this dappled shade loving aster isn’t more widely known and planted. Their foliage is lush green through the summer, even in dry part-shade, the flower buds are delicate and airy and appear in late August and the blooms are showy and covered in happy bees through September, even as the New England Asters in my sunnier front yard have started to shift from providing nectar and pollen and onto growing seed.
These spread slowly to form a patch and are a nice follow-up to the red Monarda that grows nearby. I introduced some Zigzag Goldenrod to the space next to this patch late last fall and I’m looking forward to their combined blooming next September.
These will grow in full sun, but they really thrive in dappled sun or afternoon shade and will grow well in garden conditions, edges of woodlands, partially shaded meadows and fast draining, low nutrient soils. Height is generally between 18" and 36”, growing taller in shadier locations or when alongside taller plants.
