The best pink asters to brighten up the autumn garden

Small pink asters: to grow in pots or borders

Asters reward us with a lovely range of shapes. The smallest among them, the dwarf and compact varieties, barely exceed 30 cm. They can thus fit even into tight spaces. A boon for creating beautiful autumn pots that will brighten the terrace, the balcony or a simple windowsill. But these small asters will also be perfect for dressing a border.

This is the case for some Aster dumosus:

• The variety ‘Jenny’ is a lovely autumn aster, very compact, reaching 30 cm in all directions. It rewards us with pom-pom flowers in a vivid fuchsia pink that brighten the surroundings despite its small size. A sure-fire choice, floriferous and colourful, that brings a final touch of joy before winter.
• On the other hand, ‘Heinz-Richard’ is just as interesting, with pink flowering from September to October. It features a magenta colour that is very dynamic. It also grows to 30 cm across.
• For its part, ‘Starlight’, a true autumn star, offers from the end of summer semi-double flowers in a deep pink. Small in stature, it does not exceed 30 cm.
• Let’s also mention ‘Rosenwichtel’, a pink aster forming a pretty bright cushion from August.

Other small pink-flowered asters have the characteristic of flowering in spring, between April and June. These include Alpine asters, such as ‘Happy End’, which displays a pretty fresh pink with a yellow centre. It grows to only 20 cm tall and 30 cm across. Also mention ‘Pinkie’, with a solid pink colour and a spreading habit. Not fussy, these varieties thrive in well-drained soils, even calcareous ones. They are therefore perfect candidates for dressing sunny rockeries.

Aster ‘Jenny’

Tall pink asters: ideal to brighten the backs of borders

Giant asters are second to none for adding colour, as well as height and structure to the garden. Reaching up to 1.5 m, they are ideal for dressing the back of borders.

Among the pink varieties, first up is the Aster novi-belgii ‘Fellowship’.

Another notable variety: the Aster novae-angliae ‘Barr’s Pink’, a tall autumn aster which is a real mainstay for the garden. It produces beautiful daisy-like flowers in a very fresh pink, borne on sturdy, upright stems that hardly require staking. It forms a handsome clump of about 1.2 m in height. It is also an excellent cut flower.

Even more imposing at 1.4 m tall, the Aster novae-angliae ‘Rosanna’ is perfect for creating a backdrop for a border. In autumn, it produces an abundance of flowers in a pink leaning towards mauve, very easy to pair with seasonal colours. Their yellow centres mellow to a brown-tinged pink over time. Preferring cool, moist soils, it can also naturalise along the edge of a pond.

Aster Novi Belgii ‘Fellowship’

The earliest pink-flowering varieties

Among pink asters that reveal themselves fairly early in autumn, for example the Aster dumosus ‘Anneke’, a dwarf variety that shows its pretty daisy-like flowers from August through to October. This is also the case for the variety ‘Jenny’.

As we have seen, Alpine asters have the distinction of flowering in spring. Other pink-flowering species do not behave like the others: this is the case of the Aster amellus ‘Rosa Erfüllung’, a summer aster capable of flowering from July through to the end of the hot season, in September. It bears heads of pure pink with a bright yellow eye. Of medium size, it grows to about 50 cm across.

Aster amellus ‘Rosa Erfüllung’

Pink asters that bloom until the end of autumn

Some asters have a later flowering, which will accompany the garden until the first hints of winter, around November. They are precious at a time when the vegetation has begun to rest, when colour and flowering are scarcer.

• The Aster novae-angliae ‘Rosa Sieger’ is one of the grand autumn asters, which reach a little over 1 metre in height. Generous, it produces a multitude of small daisies that offer us a palette of pinks, as they fade over time. To be planted in soil that is heavy and clayey.
• The Aster ericoïdes ‘Lovely’ is a variety with a modest silhouette (50 cm in height), which will accompany us until November. It produces small daisies in a delicate violet-pink. It will prefer poor, dry, even unforgiving soils.
• The Aster pringlei x ericoïdes ‘Pink Star’ is a late-flowering hybrid, which forms a cloud of starry flowers pink with a mauve sheen. With its long stems reaching 1 metre in height, it brightens the borders in late autumn.

Let us also mention the Aster ericoïdes ‘Esther’, with its abundance of small pale pink flowers, or the Aster novae-angliae ‘Annabelle de Chazal’, with its tall candy-pink daisies, which stay open even during autumn rains.

Aster ‘Pink Star’

Pink varieties with double flowers

Originals with their adorable, tousled look, some asters produce a multitude of petals per flower. These are asters with double- or semi-double flowering.

This is the case with the Aster novi-belgii ‘Flamingo’, with its delicate pale pink flowering between September and October.

Let us also mention the semi-double flowers in pink-mauve of ‘Patricia Ballard’, a giant variety reaching 1.50 metres.

Among the hybrid Aster Carmen, the semi-double flowers are stunning with their bright pink and a golden-yellow heart. A medium-sized variety (90 cm in height) that fits in anywhere.

On the Aster amellus ‘Sonia’ side, the semi-double flowers display a pretty purplish-pink.  

Aster novi-belgii ‘Patricia Ballard’