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Calico aster 'Lady in Black'

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 'Lady in Black' · Asteraceae

Calico aster 'Lady in Black' (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 'Lady in Black') in flower
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Dark purple leaves on wide, horizontal branches, which in autumn are lined with thousands of tiny white daisies with raspberry centres.

Size
3½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
Zones
4 to 8
Light
Full sun to part sun
Flowers
Mid September to mid October
Pets
No toxicity recorded
Job in a bed
Drift

A bed built around calico aster 'Lady in Black'

The planner designed this bed around calico aster 'Lady in Black' 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 calico aster 'Lady in Black' stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in early October: Calico aster 'Lady in Black', Winter heath, Coral bells 'Firefly', Brown-eyed Susan, Beardtongue 'Husker Red', Spurge 'Chameleon', Star of Persia, Spring starflower.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun, seen from the path in early October.
4. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan41. Calico aster 'Lady in Black'12. Winter heath22. Winter heath22. Winter heath22. Winter heath22. Winter heath23. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'32. Winter heath22. Winter heath25. Beardtongue 'Husker Red'55. Beardtongue 'Husker Red'55. Beardtongue 'Husker Red'57. Star of Persia77. Star of Persia73. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'33. Coral bells 'Firefly'36. Spurge 'Chameleon'66. Spurge 'Chameleon'66. Spurge 'Chameleon'62. Winter heath22. Winter heath22. Winter heath27. Star of Persia78. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower8. Spring starflower
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Calico aster 'Lady in Black' × 1, white
  2. 2 Winter heath × 10, pink
  3. 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 8, red
  4. 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
  5. 5 Beardtongue 'Husker Red' × 3, white
  6. 6 Spurge 'Chameleon' × 3, purple leaves
  7. 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
  8. 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 among the tallest plants 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 beardtongue 'Husker Red' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
  • One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.

Why now

  • In flower for six weeks. From mid September to mid October.
  • Closes the season. For its last two 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. Winter heath is the first into flower, in late January, and calico aster 'Lady in Black' the last to finish, in mid October. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 3 kinds out together.

The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 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 calico aster 'Lady in Black' goes in a border

At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.

Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.

A foliage plant for five months and a cloud of flower for one. The dark, twiggy frame is a foil for grasses and for the yellows of late summer.

  • Dark foliage through summer
  • A haze of flower in autumn
  • Naturalistic planting

What to plant with calico aster 'Lady in Black'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for four weeks, from mid September; tall enough (5½ ft) to stand behind it.
  • Black-eyed Susan: in flower together for two weeks, from mid September; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
  • Japanese anemone: in flower together for four weeks, from mid September.

Questions about calico aster 'Lady in Black'

Does calico aster 'Lady in Black' need sun or shade?

Calico aster 'Lady in Black' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does calico aster 'Lady in Black' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 calico aster 'Lady in Black' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers mid September to mid October. As an autumn flower it keeps much the same dates in every zone: it answers to shortening days and cool nights more than to the warmth of spring.

Roughly when calico aster 'Lady in Black' is in flower
Zone 4Mid September to mid October
Zone 5Mid September to mid October
Zone 6Mid September to mid October
Zone 7Mid September to mid October
Zone 8Mid September 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 calico aster 'Lady in Black' be planted?

2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many calico aster 'Lady in Black' plants do I need?

At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 6 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 one in one group.

Is calico aster 'Lady in Black' 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 calico aster 'Lady in Black'?

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 calico aster 'Lady in Black'?

Calico aster 'Lady in Black' is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

What does calico aster 'Lady in Black' look like in winter?

Calico aster 'Lady in Black' 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 calico aster 'Lady in Black' good for bees and butterflies?

Calico aster 'Lady in Black' is visited by pollinators, bees, specialist bees, butterflies and songbirds.

It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).

More Symphyotrichum

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8

In flower in: September · October

Every fact on record

Type
Perennial
Size
3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
Plant
2½ ft (75 cm) apart
Height class
Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
Place in the bed
Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
Flowers
Mid September to mid October; daisies; white, pink
Leaves
Fine texture, herbaceous; purple, burgundy
Shape
Upright, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 8
Light
Full sun, part sun
Soil
Average, well-drained
Water
Moderate
Feeding
None needed
Family
Asteraceae
Comes from
Canada to Mexico
Attracts
Pollinators, bees, specialist bees, butterflies, songbirds

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.