Aster chilensis Purple Haze - Purple Haze California Aster, Pacific Aster

Aster chilensis Purple Haze is a dwarf cultivar of the California Native perennial Symphyotrichum chilense. Aster is the old genus but still the one used most frequently in the trade. The Pacific Aster is a modest perennial, though pretty tough, growing to 12-18". Like its parents it spreads steadily by underground runners. Thankfully the runners are shallow and Aster chilensis Purple Haze is pretty easy to pull out when necissary. Aster chilensis Purple Haze grows well in boggy streamside locations but still performs quite well when the bog dries out in the Summer. In the Fall the pale blue ray flowers with yellow cone flowers in the center attract a huge number of bees, including many native species, and butterfiles. Each Winter I cut the Purple Haze Pacific Aster to the ground just as the new shoots start to show above the soil. Aster chilensis Purple Haze this Winter was unphased when a cold snap took our Winter temperatures down into the low teens or single digits. The California Aster is a nectar source for the adult Monarch Butterflies, Northern White Skippers, Gray Hairstreak, Hedgerow Hairstreak, Painted Lady, Fiery Skipper, California Dogface Butterfly, Cloudless Sulfur, California Common Ringlet, Giant Swallowtail, White Checkered Skipper, and the Mournful Duskywing. The California Aster can be found throughout most of California near streams and grasslands up to 4500 feet elevation.