Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster is a small mounding native perennial known for the minty scent of its foliage. It sports a hairy stem with rough, hairy lance-like green leaves and flowers with the signature purple with orange-yellow centers that only blooms in fall. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and bees. Grows best in full sun and dry to medium well-drained soils. Raydon's Favorite tolerates light shade and is fairly drought tolerant, but excessive dry conditions will reduce bloom. Type: Perennial Origins: East and Central N. America, SE Native Height: 2’ - 3’ Spread: 2’ - 3’ Spacing: 3’ USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 - 8 Culture: Full Sun, Part Sun Bloom Color: Purple Season of Interest: Fall MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low maintenance plant. Susceptible to powdery mildew if soils poorly-drained. Can cut stalks after flowering to prevent self-seeding. LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Wildlife Gardens, Naturalized Areas, and Containers. COMPANION PLANTS: Stoke's Aster, Switch Grass, Bluestar IMAGES: Photos by cultivar413, (1) 151029 127 Central Park - Conservatory Garden, South Garden, Symphyrotrichon oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' Aromatic Aster, (2) 151029 125 Central Park - Conservatory Garden, South Garden, Artemisia 'Powis Castle', Symphyrotrichon oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' Aromatic Aster, (3) Photo by David J. Stang, Aster oblongifolius Raydons Favorite 1zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (4) Photo by David J. Stang, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Raydons Favorite 0zz, CC BY-SA 4.0 *As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.
