Eurybia divaricata (White Wood Aster)
$8.00
Out of stock
Size: 6”-3’ tall / 1-2’ wide
Sun: Part Sun to Full Shade
Soil: Dry-Medium, Well-Drained
Bloom Time: Fall
Deer Resistance: 4/5
Ecotype: Virginia
White Wood Aster is a vigorous perennial that's great for difficult dry shade locations. It readily self-seeds to fill in empty spots, and this can also make it "too weedy" for tidier garden beds. I recommend it for larger spaces, naturalized areas, or where it will have healthy competition. In the fall, it produces an abundance of white flowers. These white "petals" are actually bracts, and the true flowers are the yellow ray flowers in the center. Once pollinated, the ray flowers turn a burgundy color, and it is common to see plants with both yellow unpollinated flowers and red pollinated ones at the same time. These pollinated flowers soon form attractive fluffy seedheads, though you may choose to remove them to prevent self-seeding.
Aside from the flowers, I also find the leaves and stems of this aster attractive. The heart-shaped leaves are dark green with sharply serrated margins, and the stems are a deep purplish color. This makes it striking throughout the summer, long before it blooms.
Like all asters, White Wood Asters are an important late season food sources for pollinators, and they serve as larval host plants for the Silvery Checkerspot and Pearl Crescent butterflies. While deer will browse the foliage, it is not a preferred food, and established plants should rebound just fine.