October Blooms in my Georgia Garden: Asters

Aster 'Raydon's Favorite' in October

If you see me when I come home from pretty much anywhere this time of year, you'll find me unloading at least one mum. I bring one home almost every time I go to the store. But where do they end up? Well, I do plant them of course. But they just don't last very long in my garden here in Georgia. Our summers are very hot and dry. This year, the drought has extended into Fall. This is the driest Fall I can remember. We haven't had any rain at all in over 2 months.

Unlike Chrysanthemums, Asters, will live on for years, in spite of the drought we usually suffer here in Georgia. There are many Fall blooming Aster varieties to choose from, and I intend to add them all to my garden! There are asters for full sun and asters that will bloom well in shade.

Symphyotricum oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' is covered with lavender daisy-like blooms every Fall in September and October. The aromatic foliage reminds me of mint and deer do not like it.

Butterflies and other pollinators love all varieties of aster. In mid-Fall, most other flowers have finished blooming, but the Fall asters are just getting started. Most aster plants are just covered in flowers this time of year. Asters make excellent cut flowers, lasting a long time in a Fall floral arrangement.

Our native asters are much easier to grow than chrysanthemums. Once established they are quite drought tolerant, thriving on sunny hillsides even in the midst of a drought. Asters tolerate just about any soil--dry, clay, or sandy.

This native plant can be grown anywhere in the United States, since it is hardy in USDA Zones 3-8. Most asters like full sun, but there are asters that bloom even in shade.

This year The Garden Club of America named Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite' as the 2016 Plant of the year, so it definitely deserves to be in your garden.

The only negative I can think of with Raydon's Favorite is that it will grow quite tall and flop over if it isn't pruned early in the summer. I am bad about forgetting to prune.

Confederate Rose is Really a Hibiscus

Confederate Rose is a very tall perennial that grows like a shrub in most of the South. Near the coast it will leaf out on old stems, but in most areas, the tops will die back, and the plant will regrow each spring from the base.

Despite their popularity and ability to thrive in the Southeastern United States, Confederate roses are not native to the United States but come from China. They thrive in the South anywhere that they have time to open their very late flowers before fall frost. This species is a popular passalong plant not usually available in your local nursery.

Height varies from about 8 feet in the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama to about 15 feet on the coast.

Confederate Rose is an eye-catching foliage plant even before bloom, with large, soft, gray-green maple shaped leaves. Large blooms four to six inches wide open in September or October. Both double and single flowering forms are available. It is the changing of the bloom color that gives the plant its botanical name, Hibiscus mutabilis. The blooms open as a very soft pink and darken gradually to a deep pink the third day after opening. When in full bloom, the plant appears to have 3 different colored flowers all on the same bush.

Confederate Rose grows best in full sun or part shade. Although average garden soil is fine, the plant will grow larger and bloom more in good fertile soil.  As with all plants in the hibiscus family, Hibiscus mutabilis needs regular water to grow and perform well, but can withstand drought. Water whenever you see the large leaves droop.

Once winter frosts burn back the foliage, the entire plant can be cut back to make the garden more tidy. This can be done any time during the winter or early spring. Near the coast, you can let the stems stay if you don’t mind the plant becoming very large, since Confederate Rose will resprout from current branches where winters are mild. Even when the plant is cut to the ground, it will become 10 feet tall by summer’s end. You cannot make this plant stay small and compact, no matter what you do. Confederate Rose is meant to be a flamboyant, voluptuous focal point in the garden. Make sure you plant it where the large size can be appreciated.

Sources for this plant: Shady Gardens Nursery.