Getting a Handle on Handelia

Here’s another of those plants that virtually no one has either grown or even knows about. Handelia trichophylla is a little-known monotypic member of the aster family (Asteraceae). Not only does it have hairy, silver foliage, which usually spells certain death in our summers, but it hails from the “stans”, which include the low rainfall countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang. Our particular plant is from a seed collection in Tadzhikistan.

We would not typically expect anything native to the “stans” to survive in the hot, humid Southeastern US, but this is why we experiment, and why we create unique habitats and microclimates in our garden. In this case, Handelia has thrived for four years in our crevice garden, where it grows in a soil mix of 50% Permatill.

Handelia trichophylla

Autumn’s last buzz – Elliott’s Aster

Elliott’s aster (Symphyotrichum elliottii) is the absolute last of our asters to flower at JLBG. It doesn’t begin to flower until the first of November and withstands the mild frosts of October like they didn’t even happen. It is naturally found in tidal freshwater marshes and other moist open sites from the Virginia and Carolina coastal plain south to Florida and west to Louisiana. Though it hails from moist environments it thrives under general garden conditions if the soil isn’t allowed to become too droughty.

Symphyotrichum elliottii in flower
Symphyotrichum elliottii

The plant has a lot to recommend it besides the time of flower. It forms stiff stems rising 5-6’ tall crowned with a dense pyramidal arrangement of inflorescences of pale pink with a hint bluish-purple ray flowers and bright yellow disk flowers. The lack of lanky branches allows this tall aster to display its flowers without flopping all over the rest of your garden in the manner typical of asters. It spreads via rhizomes, so you need to be sure to give it space to roam a bit. It provides a dramatic impact when planted at the back of borders. Though it spreads, it doesn’t roam far from the parent plant and can be easily kept in place by yearly thinning of the outer edges of the clumps.

A field of aster - Symphyotrichum elliottii
Symphyotrichum elliottii

The most outstanding feature of this beautiful aster to me is the number and diversity of pollinators it supports. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a plant that attracted more. In addition to swarms of honeybees, bumblebees, carpenter, and solitary bees the flowers draw in numerous pollinating flies, halictids, moths and skippers. I love plants that extend the color season and though we all think about early spring, we really should also plant to extend our love affair with color into the leafless season and Elliott’s aster does this is a big way.

-Patrick

A bee doing it's thing with Elliott’s Aster
Symphyotrichum elliottii

Oblong Aster

Mid-October is flowering time for the widespread (Canada south to Texas) native oblong aster, Aster oblongifolius (aka: Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). This amazing plant forms a large clump to 2′ tall x 8′ wide. This is the clone Aster ‘October Skies’, which is quite similar to the other widely grown clone, Aster ‘Fanny’. Average to dry soils in full sun is the key to success. Hardiness is Zone 4a-9b.

Oblong aster in full bloom.
Aster oblongifolius ‘Fanny’

Aster ‘Hillandschmidt’

Symphyotrichum pilosum

Here is a future introduction for Plant Delights, a 2018 Wilkes County, Georgia collection of a dwarf, compact form of our native frost aster, Aster pilosus (Symphyotrichum pilosum), collected by our research staff, Zac Hill and Jeremy Schmidt. It’s looking rather impressive in the trial garden this week, 30″ tall x 5′ wide.

Stare at our Fanny

Aster oblongifolius ‘Fanny’ (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) has put on its normal superb show this fall. Keep in mind that this gets quite large. This is a 2 year old plant from a quart pot, which has already reached its mature size of 8′ wide.