<em>Erigeron</em>, fleabane: to plant, to grow

Description and botany

Erigeron, also called Fleabane or wall daisy is a small perennial belonging to the family Asteraceae just like asters and daisies.

Genus Erigeron includes about 200 species, sometimes annual, most often perennial, native to prairies and mountainous areas of America and Mexico, and includes many hybrids and cultivars notably derived from Erigeron speciosus such as ‘Grandiflorus’, or very tall varieties like ‘Dunkelste Aller’ or ‘Rosa Triumph’.

Erigeron karvinskianus and Erigeron alpinus are also among the species most commonly found in gardens.

From a rhizomatous rootstock, Erigeron quickly forms a dense herbaceous tuft with a bushy, spreading habit, often candelabra-like, ranging from 0.10 m for the most compact alpine fleabanes up to 0.75 m in flower with almost as much spreading for tall cultivars. While most can spread widely via their rootstock, sometimes becoming invasive, the creeping alpine species rarely exceed about 0.15 m in spread.

Erigeron alpinus – botanical illustration

In late spring, flexible, upright stems, more or less ramified in their upper parts, bearing foliage that becomes deciduous around -5°C emerge. Leaves are narrow, lanceolate to ovate, 3 to 12 cm long, arranged alternately. Median stems are often longer than central stem. Generally downy, they vary from bright green to dark green or grey-green.

From this dense mass of vegetation, more or less tall, appear the flowers, solitary or gathered in corymbs of 4 to 20 flowers at the ends of numerous flexible branches.

From May–June, with a good return in September–October, even until December in the mildest areas, Erigeron displays a long and abundant flowering very similar to that of asters.

A multitude of single, semi-double (Erigeron speciosus ‘Rosa Jewel’) or double (Erigeron ‘Professor Korodi’) flower heads, 1 to 7 cm in diameter, open all summer, resembling daisy or small marguerite flowers. The small yellow centre is surrounded by a collar of very fine petals or ligules closely set, arranged in one or two radiating ranks.

They offer a wide palette of very fresh colours ranging from pure white to soft pink, from intense purple to crimson-red, from pale mauve to lavender blue.

They are also good melliferous flowers, attracting many pollinating insects and butterflies from May until first frosts.

Once pollinated, these flower heads produce fruits, achenes, whose egrets of bristles evoke airy little old-man heads topped with white hair, hence the Latin name meaning “old”.

Like dandelion flowers, wind will disperse these seeds which will self-sow wherever they land.

Very long-lasting in vases, flowers of the taller fleabanes are lovely in wildflower-style and delicate bouquets.

With good hardiness slightly variable depending on species, around -10°C to -15°C in well-drained soil, Erigeron or fleabane is an easy-to-grow plant, perfect for colonising unpromising spots in summer, forming vigorous vegetative carpets in rockeries, groundcover, borders, flowering low walls or stone troughs depending on variety size. Grow Erigeron in full sun, in rather rich, well-drained soil.

Erigeron ‘Azur Beauty’

Main species and varieties

Most popular

Our favourites

Erigeron Dunkelste Aller

A unique large variety producing large violet flowers. Easy to use in beds, borders or bedding schemes.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 60 cm

See the product sheet

Erigeron karvinskianus

Forms attractive low groundcover tufts. This erigeron particularly suits rockeries, low walls and paving, colonising poor, very dry spots in summer.

• Flowering time June to November
• Height at maturity 20 cm

See the product sheet

Erigeron speciosus Grandiflorus

One of the tallest erigerons! Very floriferous, it will flower abundantly all summer on tall stems! A welcome addition to sunny beds and for bouquets!

• Flowering time July to September
• Height at maturity 70 cm

See the product sheet

Erigeron speciosus Rosa Jewel

A pretty perennial of very delicate colour. Indispensable in beds, rockeries and meadows!

• Flowering time July to September
• Height at maturity 60 cm

See the product sheet

 

Erigeron Rosa Triumph

A clear pink carried by double flowers. It forms a carpet-like groundcover ideal for edging a bed, for example.

• Flowering time July to October
• Height at maturity 60 cm

See the product sheet

Erigeron Professor Korodi

This variety takes on a little spring-daisy character. Ideal for groundcovers or bed edges.

• Flowering time July to October
• Height at maturity 50 cm

See the product sheet

Planting

Where to plant Erigerons or Fleabanes?

Very hardy, down to about -15°C and lower, Erigerons can be grown in all regions. Note that montane species such as Erigeron alpinus are the most cold-resistant, with hardiness to -20°C.

These sun perennials need a sunny position but can tolerate slight shade during the hottest hours.

Most will thrive in well-drained, rather dry, even rocky or stony soil. This is typically the case for montane species, such as Erigeron karvinskianus, which tolerate drier conditions on calcareous rockeries and do not tolerate any stagnant moisture at their base. By contrast, other varieties prefer rich soils that remain cool in summer.

Not demanding in general, they will content themselves with ordinary soil provided it is well drained; relative dryness in summer is always preferable to overly wet soils.

Choose a site sheltered from wind, liable to bend tall-stemmed cultivars.

Fleabanes bring pleasing unity to borders. Plant larger varieties, such as Erigeron speciosus ‘Grandiflorus’ in mixed borders, while smaller ones are suited to slightly dry spots neglected by other plants — to dress a rockery or edge a dry-stone wall, line a path or a sunny flowerbed, flower between paving slabs or in wall crevices.

Some Erigerons fit very well in pots, troughs or hanging baskets on sunny balconies and terraces.

When to plant Erigeron or Fleabane?

We recommend planting Erigeron or Fleabane in autumn, although it is also possible to plant buckets at the start of spring.

How to plant Erigerons or Fleabanes?

In open ground

To create a good groundcover or a striking effect in a border, plan for about 5 to 8 plants per m2. Planting spacing is quite variable: from 0.20 m for small creeping varieties to 0.50–0.60 m width for larger ones. Avoid planting in heavy, compacted soil.

• Dig a hole slightly deeper than the rootball.
• Place fleabane without burying the collar
• Backfill with potting compost
• Firm gently.
• Stake if needed
• Mulch
• Water generously

In pots

• Lay a good drainage layer (gravel or clay pebbles) in bottom of container
• Plant the bucket in a mix of ordinary soil and potting compost
• Water regularly

→ Learn more about growing Erigeron in a pot in our advice sheet

Care and maintenance

Erigeron or fleabane needs no particular care to remain floriferous and vigorous. However, you can cut off faded flowers as they appear to prolong flowering for as long as possible. In prolonged drought, flowering may cease, resuming vigorously with arrival of autumn.

A mulch to keep soil cool and a few sparing waterings will be necessary in dry weather.

If you grow Erigeron in a pot, water more regularly to prevent substrate drying out too much.

It is preferable to stake the taller varieties.

After flowering, you can severely cut back the plant, shortening stems by half or cutting back to ground level using pruning shear. It will come back stronger in spring and retain a neat, bushy, compact habit.

Each spring, and especially if plant shows signs of fatigue, divide clumps to restore vigour. This will also help control their spread!

Possible diseases and pests

Like its cousin the aster, Erigeron has few enemies: the gastropods that love young shoots. As prevention, you can scatter wood ash and, above all, follow all our tips to keep them away in our fact sheets: “Slugs: 7 effective natural ways to control them”.

Soil should always be well drained to avoid downy mildew appearing. This disease is favoured in slightly overcrowded conditions, during warm, rainy weather or in heavy, waterlogged soil. To prevent and combat powdery mildew, follow our advice: “Powdery mildew or ‘white disease’: prevention and treatment”

Multiplication

Clump division remains the simplest operation to multiply your Erigerons. It rejuvenates clumps, keeping them floriferous. Carry out each spring, possibly in autumn, or every 3 or 4 years. This plant is so generous that spontaneous sowings are common; Erigeron seeds germinate easily between paving slabs and in wall crevices!

Division

• Using a sharp forked spade, lift the clump
• Separate into several pieces with roots
• Replant immediately in garden in well-prepared soil
• Water generously to aid establishment

Associate

With its simple flowers, Erigeron or Fleabane quickly composes charming, bucolic scenes in every corner of the garden. It thrives in gardens of every style, bringing colour, cheerfulness, lightness and volume.

A pretty flowering scene: Erigeron karvinskianus, Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’

It is particularly suited to romantic atmospheres, white or pink gardens, or to composing wild-looking, fresh or vibrant scenes in a natural garden. Its pastel or intense shades easily blend with other perennials flowering in summer.

For a country scene, mix tall cultivars with peach-leaved campanulas, paniculate Phlox, Veronicas, Leucanthemums, Gypsophilas, shrubby salvias and Valerians.

In rockeries or mixed-border, the smallest fleabanes form low, spreading tufts that are covered until autumn with small daisies, perfect in combination with pretty low-growing young plants that enjoy the same conditions such as Nepeta racemosa, Geranium sanguineum, Thymus capitatus, or taller ones like cosmos or gauras.

Low varieties will form floriferous groundcovers alongside sedums, nicely hiding bases of shrub roses.

Idea for a border combination: Salvia nemorosa ‘April Night’, Knautia arvensis and Erigeron karvinskianus

In a sunny summer bed, it will be wonderful alongside nemesia, Nigella, achilleas and knautia.

In a romantic bed in shades of blue, the large heads of Allium and Agapanthus, Verbena bonariensis or the spikes of delphiniums will rise majestically above clumps of fleabane.

In a white garden, white fleabane varieties pair with white Eremurus, foxgloves or white Persicaria.

Its delicate flowering goes wonderfully with grasses such as Stipa, tufted hairgrass or Pennisetum in abundant scenes in the spirit of sunlit naturalistic meadows.

Erigerons are perfect for creating an autumn bed, surrounded by asters, immortelles and echinaceas that will flower until first frosts.

→ Discover 7 other ideas for pairing Erigerons