New England Aster, Michaelmas-daisy.

New England Aster is perhaps one of the best known Asters, and with good reason. It is quite a showy plant, sometimes with hundreds of large, colorful deep purp...
Read more

New England Aster is perhaps one of the best known Asters, and with good reason. It is quite a showy plant, sometimes with hundreds of large, colorful deep purple to pink compound flowers on leafy plants growing to 4, 5, or occasionally even 6 feet tall, seen in open wooded areas, meadows, prairies, and along streams, but especially visible along many roadsides. It also has very wide distribution, being found in 42 of the 50 states, and most of Canada. (The reports of the plant in California may be historic or, as in Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, of naturalized garden escapees.) It's especially common in the Upper Midwest and (reasonably) the New England states. It also has a fairly long blooming season, starting to bloom in early August and blooming until first frost. The ray florets of New England Aster are usually a shade of deep rose to deep purple, although in some cases they may be paler, ranging to pink and sometimes even white. The disc florets are yellow, becoming a brownish purple with age.
Read less