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perennial

New England aster

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Climate-suitable non-native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 40°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -35°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

3/5

Mature size

1–1.5 m tall, 0.8 m spread

Seasonal interest

Autumn · Violet purple

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

How to plant it

General steps for this plant. Save a garden and these become specific to your location, soil and light.

  1. Step 1When to plant

    Plant during March to May or September to November.

    Autumn planting gives roots a head start; spring planting suits cold or wet soils.

  2. Step 2Where to put it

    Choose a position in full sun for most of the day. Allow 0.8 m of room around it — mature spread is 0.8 m and mature height 1–1.5 m.

    Light in your garden is not answered, so this is the plant's own requirement.

  3. Step 3Preparing the ground

    Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper, loosen the sides, and plant so the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil.

    Soil is not answered. This plant grows in average, moisture-retentive conditions.

  4. Step 4Watering while it establishes

    Water thoroughly at planting (5–10 litres), then only when the top few centimetres of soil are dry, through the first growing season.

    Even a drought-tolerant plant (3/5 here) only becomes drought-tolerant once established.

  5. Step 5Mulch

    Spread 5–7 cm of composted bark or garden compost around the plant, keeping it clear of the stem.

    Mulch cuts water loss and suppresses weeds through the first summer, when losses are most likely.

  6. Step 6The first year

    Check it after strong wind and in long dry spells. Little else is needed.

    Maintenance level on the plant record is low.

  7. Step 7What to watch for

    Lower leaves brown in dry summers.

    Taken from the plant record and your measured climate figures, not from a general description.

Spacing: about 0.8 m apart — roughly 16 plants for every 10 m² if planted as a group.

What this guide could not use

  • No location saved, so planting times are general rather than local.
  • Soil moisture is not answered, so soil preparation is general advice.
  • Light is not answered, so the position below is the plant's own preference.
  • Whether you can water is not answered, so watering assumes hand watering.
Answer five questions to make this specific

Built by fixed rules from: Plant record for New England aster (last reviewed 2026-06-01). Planting guide version gf-planting-1.0.0. Timings and volumes are practitioner estimates for planning, not a substitute for local nursery advice.

Known risks or warnings

Lower leaves brown in dry summers.

Toxicity: none

Status and jurisdiction

Climate-suitable non-native in United Kingdom (Great Britain).

Register consulted: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy distributions for Great Britain

Record review status: reviewed · last reviewed 2026-06-01 · plant data version gf-plants-2026.09.18. Status claims are never inferred from climate similarity, and growing figures are estimates pending expert review.

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (L.) G.L.Nesom
Family
Asteraceae (Asterales)
Rank and status
species · accepted
GBIF record
Taxon 3151618

Recorded native range: Alabama, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and 38 further regions

Recorded as introduced in: Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Channel Is., Czech Republic, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, Flemish Region, France and 32 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (formerly Aster novae-angliae) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae) native to central and eastern North America. Commonly known as New England aster, hairy Michaelmas-daisy, or Michaelmas daisy, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant usually between 30 and 120 centimeters (1 and 4 feet) tall and 60 to 90 cm (2 to 3 ft) wide. The usually deep purple flowers have up to 100 ray florets which are rarely pink or white. These surround the flower centers which are composed of just as many tiny yellow disk florets. The plant grows naturally in clumps, with several erect stems emerging from a single point. The stems are stout, hairy, and mostly unbranched. The untoothed, lance-shaped leaves clasp the stem with earlobe-like appendages, and the lower stem leaves often wither by the time of flowering.

Description from Wikipedia — Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

  • United Kingdom: climate-suitable
  • United States: native
  • Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

What to do next

Create a Garden Profile to see whether this plant suits your conditions.

Demonstration data

These figures come from the demonstration dataset kept for testing and as a fallback when the measured climate service is unavailable. They are representative, not observed, and are never presented as validated live data.