Smooth Blue Aster

$95.00
  • Scientific Name: Symphyotichum laeve, Aster laevis
  • Perennial Forb
  • Long-Lived
  • Full Sun/ Partial Shade
  • Conservation, Gardening, Wildlife

Quantity is per pound. Example: 1 = 1 lb, 2 = 2 lbs, 3 = 3lbs, etc. This is pure seed, not a live plant.



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Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) is a perennial forb with a stout rhizome and underground stem (caudex). Six to seven aerial stems sprout from the caudex. Plants are generally 30 to 100 cm tall. Leaves are thick and stout, 1 to 2.4 cm wide and less than 5 times as long as wide, sometimes toothed along the margins and clasped to the stem by a lobed appendage (auricle). Leaves near the inflorescence are reduced to 2 mm bracts and have diamond-shaped tips. Each plant produces several inflorescences. Ray flowers are pale blue to purple, 7 to 15 mm long. Disc flowers are yellowish. Fruit are achenes. Flowering occurs from August to October. Lower leaves drop early in the autumn while upper leaves remain until frost top-kills the plant.

Habitat: Smooth blue aster occurs in various habitats, ranging from moist woods to dry, open prairies. It is most notably associated with mixed prairie plant types, and is also a dominant understory species in quaking-aspen communities.

Uses:

Conservation: Used for mixedgrass and tallgrass prairie restoration as well as roadside revegetation.

Gardening: The showy flowers of this plant makes it a popular plant for use in wildflower, native plant, and butterfly gardens. Wildflowers

Wildlife: Palatable to whitetailed deer, which prefer to graze this species before other forbs. It has high nutritional value, decreasing with maturation. It also attracts butterflies, pollinators of the flowers, and can provide shelter for them.

***Click on the “Quick Plant Facts” tab above for more information.

SMOOTH BLUE ASTER
(Symphyotrichum laeve)

Smooth Blue Aster NRCS Plant Guide

PDF version of NRCS Plant Guide & Fact Sheet

Prepared By: Sarah Wennerberg Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Species Coordinator: Mark Skinner, USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Download PDF

Helpful Links

Additional information about this product can be found on the academic websites linked below.

Synonyms

Many plants have more than one common and scientific name. We've listed a few of them below.

  • Smooth Blue Aster
  • Symphyotrichum laeve
  • Aster laevis

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Quick Plant Facts
Common Name:

Smooth aster

Scientific Name:

Old Scientific Name:

Lifespan:

Origin:

Plant Type:

Seeds per Pound:

Plant Height:

Planting Rate:

Max Sowing Depth:

Bloom:

Late summer all the way to frost.