New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Andenken an Alma Pötschke' · Asteraceae
Daisies of a vivid, glowing salmon-rose, a colour found in no other aster, on sturdy stems in early autumn.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late August to mid October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'
The planner designed this bed around New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 4, pink
- 2 Cottage pinks × 17, white
- 3 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 3, tan
- 4 Purple milkweed × 3, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' × 3, pink
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' (20 in) and purple milkweed (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 groups (3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late August to mid October.
- Closes the season. For its last six weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height in early June, with 4 kinds out together. Cottage pinks, fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved purple milkweed, and each shows the other off. The plan meets all 17 of the design principles it was checked against, and is Excellent in six categories.
The planner's own design check: 16 Excellent, 1 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The brightest thing in the September border. Cut the stems by half in early June to keep it shorter and bushier, and hide its lower stems, which go brown, behind a mounding plant.
- Strong colour for early autumn
- The back of a sunny border
- Cutting
What to plant with New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sneezeweed: in flower together for five weeks, from late August.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Blue false indigo: flowers first, late May to mid June, so the spot is never empty.
Questions about New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'
Does New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' need sun or shade?
New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late August to mid October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early September to mid October |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early September to mid October |
| Zone 5 | Late August to mid October |
| Zone 6 | Late August to mid October |
| Zone 7 | Late August to mid October |
| Zone 8 | Late August to mid October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
Is New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after New England aster 'Alma Pötschke'?
New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bodnant viburnum 'Dawn': from early November to late December, 10 ft tall.
What does New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' look like in winter?
New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' good for bees and butterflies?
New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, beneficial insects and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of pearl crescent feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Symphyotrichum
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies' Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies'
- Aromatic aster 'Raydon's Favorite' Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite'
- Aster 'Wood's Purple' Symphyotrichum 'Wood's Purple'
- Blue wood aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium
- Calico aster 'Lady in Black' Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 'Lady in Black'
- Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' Symphyotrichum ericoides 'Snow Flurry'
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
- New England aster 'Purple Dome' Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'
- New York aster Symphyotrichum novi-belgii
- Smooth aster 'Bluebird' Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants that flower in fall
- Host plants for the pearl crescent
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late August to mid October; daisies; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, beneficial insects, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Pearl crescent
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.