Blue wood aster (Heart-leaved aster)

By Lise Fracalossi

Symphyotrichum cordifolium

Native to: All New England

Life cycle: Perennial

Seed source(s): Wild Seed Project, Cumberland County, ME

Light: Partial/Full Shade

Soil Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry

Height: 1-3’ Spread: 18-24” Spacing: 18-24”

Blooms: September, October

Bloom Color: Pale blue to purple

Natural Habitat: Wet meadows and ditches

Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Drought Tolerant, Attracts Bees, Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Songbirds, Host Plant (eg. Pearl Crescent butterfly; numerous moths), Low Maintenance

“A fall-blooming aster with billowy lavender blue daisy-like flowers and heart-shaped leaves that thrives in woodland edges or disturbed areas with poor soil. Great urban plant. Attractive to bees and butterflies.”

– Wild Seed Project

“This great shade-tolerant aster adds a perfect touch of color to the woodland garden. In autumn when little else is in bloom, it emerges with clouds of pale blue to purple flowers, seeding itself out readily and serving as a great late-season nectar source for pollinators.”

– Native Plant Trust

Symphyotrichum cordifolium (blue wood aster): a flowering plant with narrow, lance-shaped leaves near the top, and a spike of composite white flowers, with pale blue ray florets and variously yellow or red disk flowers.

Symphyotrichium cordifolium (blue wood aster)

Photo by Lise Fracalossi, October 23, 2022, in Willsboro, NY.