New Front Yard: Butterflies love Point St. George asters
This is one part in a weekly series featuring the UC Davis Arboretum “New Front Yard” series, 41 drought-tolerant and beautiful plants well adapted to our region.
Point St. George aster
Aster chilensis
Size: Under 2 feet.
Bloom season: Summer, fall.
Pruning needs: Cut back occasionally to control spreading.
Exposure: Full sun.
Water needs: Once established, water every two to three weeks.
Snapshot: Want a lavender carpet? This pretty California native aster quickly spreads into a lush bed of little soft purple daisy-like flowers. Butterflies love their nectar. Birds flock to their seed. This vigorous perennial can be very aggressive; keeping it on a water diet can help control its rapid growth. You can see specimens in the arboretum’s Mary Wattis Brown Garden of California Native Plants on the UC Davis campus.
Debbie Arrington
More online
See photo galleries of the arboretum’s Community Favorites and Arboretum All-Stars at sacbee.com/home_garden.
This story was originally published August 9, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "New Front Yard: Butterflies love Point St. George asters ."