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Pygmy aster

Symphyotrichum pygmaeum

Also called Pygmy Wood Aster

Pygmy aster
Photo: pandbmom, CC BY 4.0

Pygmy aster is a tiny, low-growing perennial wildflower from Arctic and subarctic North America, with purple-violet daisy-like flowers. It thrives in cold, open, sandy or gravelly ground with plenty of sun and moisture.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist during the growing season and let the top layer dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained sandy or gravelly soil, ideally with some organic matter.
Temperature
Hardy to very cold conditions; tolerates Arctic winters, but warm summer heat is not needed.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Subarctic America

About

Symphyotrichum pygmaeum (formerly Eurybia pygmaea and Aster pygmaeus) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Commonly known as pygmy aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach heights of 1.5 to 15 centimeters (1⁄2 to 6 inches). Its summer-blooming flowers have purple to violet ray florets and yellow disk florets.

Where it grows

S. pygmaeum is native to north Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, and it grows at up to 200 meters (660 feet) or more above sea level in moist sand dunes, sandy or silty stream banks, gravelly tundra, and similar habitats.

Other Symphyotrichum plants

Scaleleaf aster · Manyray aster · Anticosti Island aster · Western aster · Symphyotrichum bimater · Northern bog aster · Symphyotrichum bullatum · Symphyotrichum burgessii · Western meadow aster · Carneros Aster · Savanna aster · Symphyotrichum chihuahuense

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Symphyotrichum pygmaeum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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