Western silver aster is a hardy, herbaceous perennial of the daisy family, native to the prairies and dry sandy or limestone soils of central North America. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and it is mostly grown in native or wildflower gardens.
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water during establishment, then only in long dry spells; avoid soggy soil.
Soil
Dry, sandy or gravelly, well-drained soil; tolerates limestone or calcareous soil.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; tolerates heat and drought once established.
How easy
Easy
Native range
C. & E. Canada to U.S.A.
About
Symphyotrichum sericeum (formerly Aster sericeus) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central North America. Commonly known as western silver aster, western silvery aster, and silky aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 70 centimeters (2+1⁄4 feet) tall. Its flowers have purple ray florets and pink then purple disk florets, and its leaves are firm and silvery-green.
Where it grows
The species is native to central North America in the states and provinces of Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Symphyotrichum sericeum 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.