Fall in New Mexico is heralded by the purple aster which in my part of town is probably Machaeranthera bigelovii. One year, the roadside behind my house was carpeted with them, and the fall display was stunning and lasted for several weeks. I have a photo of it somewhere, but to be honest, photos don't do this plant's display justice. The flowers are a soft lavender that cameras don't pick up very well, and the color is not really strong enough to compete with the golden yellow of Chamisa, the other flower that heralds fall here. The effect in photos is that of a field of weeds. Up close, the flowers are stunning.
Here is a portrait of one that I did a few years back.
The plants are indeed weedy looking and are not plants that you would invite into a neat garden, unless they could be hidden behind something for most of the summer. They are also biennial or short lived perennials. My experience is that "short lived perennial" is a bit of stretch. When I let one grow in my old garden, the first year it looked like a weed that I forgot to pull. It had a few flowers that first autumn, and the next year it spent the summer looking like a bigger weed that I forgot to pull. The fall show was fantastic.
But purple asters being the hallmark of fall (here and just about everywhere in the U.S.), I began looking at more garden-worthy specimens. I've been growing Aster x frikartii 'Monch' for at least a dozen years. In my mind, they are the best substitute for the native purple aster, because the color of the flowers is almost identical, although 'Monch' blooms much earlier, the flowers are larger, and the display longer. The main display is in August, which is at least a month before the native aster. It is also the first aster to bloom in my garden. The plant is much more garden worthy than the native aster, being a mound of foliage in the summer, although it needs irrigation.
The flowers are stunning, to my eye, and similarly to the native aster, difficult to photograph in a way that shows just how beautiful they are.
Two other asters in my garden are starting to bloom right now, just as 'Monch' is past its peak.
'Purple Dome' is a cultivar of the New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae also known as the hairy aster, and was promoted by High Country Gardens as being a great aster for New Mexico due to its drought tolerance and compact stature. In my garden it is indeed compact, and requires moderate amounts of water. It is quite vigorous and small divisions in spring quickly forms a clump and put on a good show by fall. What I don't like about 'Purple Dome' is that the flowers don't seem to want to open fully, and the color is a strident red-purple. Not a very relaxing color at all, and not at all similar to the native aster in plant form or flower color. Still it is probably a great garden plant where it gets more irrigation than my garden, as I suspect this is why the flowers don't open well.
These are not yet in full bloom, when the flowers cover the tops of the plants rather impressively.
I told my partner that I was taking them out and he told me that he loved the color, so they stay. I had purchased one plant and a couple of years later, the many divisions cover large areas of my yard.
To be honest, I'm not sure if this next aster is the first to bloom in my yard or if 'Monch' was. This one, however, has been opening a flower or two for some time now, and is probably a couple of weeks or more from reaching full bloom. I purchased it as 'Professor Anton Kippenberg' but I knew it was not, because all the other plants labelled the same were a different color. Like the Professor, it has smooth leaves and similar plant form of the professor, so probably Aster novi-belgi, the New York Aster, but perhaps a seedling. What made me insist on purchasing it, was the color. It is a lovely blue, whereas the Professor is more purple. Planted side by side in my garden, they are distinctly different (and the Professor is only just starting to show color in the buds). Flowers are quite small, perhaps a 1/2 inch across. It's not really a substitute for the native aster either, but may be a valuable garden addition just for the color. Much nicer than 'Purple Dome.
It doesn't have much of a display yet, but look at those hundreds of buds.
I have two more asters to come. The real 'Professor Anton Kippenberg' has yet to start its display, and the highly touted 'Raydon's Favorite' whose buds have yet to form. I wait anxiously anticipating.
Here is a portrait of one that I did a few years back.
But purple asters being the hallmark of fall (here and just about everywhere in the U.S.), I began looking at more garden-worthy specimens. I've been growing Aster x frikartii 'Monch' for at least a dozen years. In my mind, they are the best substitute for the native purple aster, because the color of the flowers is almost identical, although 'Monch' blooms much earlier, the flowers are larger, and the display longer. The main display is in August, which is at least a month before the native aster. It is also the first aster to bloom in my garden. The plant is much more garden worthy than the native aster, being a mound of foliage in the summer, although it needs irrigation.
Two other asters in my garden are starting to bloom right now, just as 'Monch' is past its peak.
'Purple Dome' is a cultivar of the New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae also known as the hairy aster, and was promoted by High Country Gardens as being a great aster for New Mexico due to its drought tolerance and compact stature. In my garden it is indeed compact, and requires moderate amounts of water. It is quite vigorous and small divisions in spring quickly forms a clump and put on a good show by fall. What I don't like about 'Purple Dome' is that the flowers don't seem to want to open fully, and the color is a strident red-purple. Not a very relaxing color at all, and not at all similar to the native aster in plant form or flower color. Still it is probably a great garden plant where it gets more irrigation than my garden, as I suspect this is why the flowers don't open well.
To be honest, I'm not sure if this next aster is the first to bloom in my yard or if 'Monch' was. This one, however, has been opening a flower or two for some time now, and is probably a couple of weeks or more from reaching full bloom. I purchased it as 'Professor Anton Kippenberg' but I knew it was not, because all the other plants labelled the same were a different color. Like the Professor, it has smooth leaves and similar plant form of the professor, so probably Aster novi-belgi, the New York Aster, but perhaps a seedling. What made me insist on purchasing it, was the color. It is a lovely blue, whereas the Professor is more purple. Planted side by side in my garden, they are distinctly different (and the Professor is only just starting to show color in the buds). Flowers are quite small, perhaps a 1/2 inch across. It's not really a substitute for the native aster either, but may be a valuable garden addition just for the color. Much nicer than 'Purple Dome.
I have two more asters to come. The real 'Professor Anton Kippenberg' has yet to start its display, and the highly touted 'Raydon's Favorite' whose buds have yet to form. I wait anxiously anticipating.
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