A comprehensive database of Tennessee native plants
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Aromatic Aster, Fragrant Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
(Aster oblongifolius)
Full sun, moderately dry to dry moisture level, tolerates poor soil including clay. 1-3 ft. height, blooms in fall, blue/purple flowers, spreads by rhizomes.
Germination Code: A
Native Region: Lightly in Middle and East Tennessee
Bushy, compact, low-growing plant. Showy flowers. Named for aroma of foliage when bruised, not because of fragrance of the flowers. Drought resistant once established and very long lived. Will grow in many different soils from clay to sandy to somewhat rocky and generally prefers poor soils. Difficult to grow from seed but easy to grow once established. Attracts bees and butterflies.
flower;sun;dry;clay
flower;sun;dry;loam
flower;sun;dry;sand |
Tennessee Smart Yards Native Plants 
This plant is a great season extender. It’s one of the last plants blooming in my Northeast Tennessee garden each fall. Well into November it’s still providing nectar to foraging bumblebees.
I would like to add a comment about a cultivar of this species called ‘Raydon’s Favorite’. Normally I tend to avoid cultivars because they can be short-lived, tend to be outcompeted in a wild native garden or need to be monitored to make sure they still attract pollinators. However, ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ doesn’t have any of these problems but rather succeeds with abandon. It is one gorgeous, easy to grow plant that attracts more pollinators than many other species blooming this time of year. It spreads into large patches that are super easy to divide in fall and relocate to new areas of the yard for even more eye-stopping color. In fall when other things are turning brown and dead-looking, it just lights up the landscape.