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California Aster

California Aster

SYMPHYOTRICHUM chilense

Blooms Summer through Fall
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Ships as 4"
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Common Name(s)
California Aster, Pacific Aster
Sunlight
Full Sun (6+ hrs)
Perennial Zones
6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Watering
Let dry
Max Height
2'–4'
Max Spread
Over 24"
Special Features
California Native
Bloom Season
Summer, Fall
Fruiting Season
Fall
Lifespan
Perennial
Growing Habit
Clumping
Drought Resistance
High drought resistance
Bloom Color
Purple, Blue, Yellow
Foliage Color
Green
Stem Color
Green, Purple/Black
Themes
Cool Blue, Pastel
Genus
Symphyotrichum
Family
Asteraceae
Ship Size
4"

California Aster scatters flat-topped clusters of small daisies — purple, blue, pink or white rays around a yellow disk — across upright two- to four-foot stems from summer well into autumn. It arrives as a live 4-inch plant.

Symphyotrichum chilense is the workhorse of a West Coast native planting: deep fibrous roots and traveling rhizomes knit loose soil together on slopes and disturbed ground, and established clumps take drought and coastal salt in stride. Plant it where it can spread — a bluff garden, a meadow strip, the back of a native border with grasses and buckwheat — and it will still be flowering when almost everything else has called it a season.

Grower's note: Those rhizomes travel and the seed rides the wind, so give it a wild corner or edge the clump each year. Cut old stems to the ground once the season ends.

  • Sunlight: Full Sun (6+ hrs)
  • Water: Keep moist
  • Mature Size: 2'–4' tall × over 24" wide
  • Bloom Season: Summer, Fall
  • Fruiting Season: Fall
  • Lifespan: Perennial
  • Hardiness Zones: 6–10
  • Attracts: Bees & butterflies

Send it home to a sunny corner — healthy arrival guaranteed, or we replace it free.