Heath Aster - Symphyotrichum ericoides

This is an edge-of-the-border plant, that creates a tightly packed cloud of flowers, white flowers floating over a lower growing plant that is a great choice for average soil, either sandy or clay, with overall dry to mesic-soils, tolerating occasional ponding in the bed as well as drought, makes this plant ideal for any border or on the edges of rain gardens. A wide variety of insects are attracted to the flowers, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, moths, beetles, and plant bugs. Bee visitors include honeybees, bumblebees, cuckoo bees, little carpenter bees, leaf-cutting bees, Halictid bees, plasterer bees, and Andrenid bees. The caterpillars of the butterflies Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot) and Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent) feed on the foliage or flowers, as do the caterpillars of over 30 moth species. Height: 1 - 2 ft. (trim by 8” in by July 4th and it will grow shorter for your border and still bloom well) ft. Spread: 1-1.5 ft. Bloom time: August to October. Light: Full sun: sandy or clay soil Moisture: dry to medium, well-drained Info and photo courtesy of Illinoisflowers.org