Aster ageratoides Ezo Murasaki

The Aster ageratoides var. ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki' is an exceptional perennial, a fearless aster, prolific and resistant to powdery mildew, flowering even when it freezes. This recent Japanese variety blooms very late, in October-November, in the form of small daisies with a purple-violet colour and a golden heart, which bring a touch of colour and lightness to the flowerless beds of summer. The plant develops from a sucker stump, and its not very tall stems are sturdy in bad weather. It is an ideal plant for large beds to suppress weeds and in a large garden that leaves room for nature!

The Aster ageratoides is a creeping perennial plant native to northern Myanmar, southwestern China, and Tibet. It belongs to the Asteraceae family. The 'Ezo Murasaki' variety, originating from Japan, is distinguished by its very late flowering and relatively compact habit. This plant develops from a sucker stump and forms a very regular clump of upright, stiff, and close-set stems that do not require staking. They bear small, somewhat rough, deciduous foliage and a matte dark green colour. The mature plant will form a bushy and round clump 60 cm (24in) tall but will spread laterally to cover the ground over more than 2 meters (7 feet) if its enthusiasm is not tempered. Very late in the season, in October, and sometimes until December, countless medium-sized flowers appear, even when temperatures drop below 0°C (32°F). These are compound inflorescences in heads composed of a crown of violet ligules surrounding a central disc occupied by fertile florets with golden-yellow stamens.

With its somewhat wild temperament, this Ezo Murasaki aster often invades the space it is given, but it is a beautiful plant that flowers even in dry shade. Plant it in any soil; it tolerates poor quality soil like fill soil or compact, clayey soils. For example, the garden can be associated with Miscanthus, Calamagrostis, garden chrysanthemums, Aster Tataricus Jindai, and Persicaria. It will grow and flower even in shaded situations, such as near a shrub bush. Its exuberant and light flowering attracts the last pollinating insects. The flowering stems are very pretty in a vase, in a floral arrangement, in the company of hellebores.

The genus Aster offers a large number of species, represented by a multitude of flowering varieties. There are varieties of all sizes in an extremely rich range of colours. Each season, several species are associated.