Frikart's aster 'Monch'
Aster x frikartii 'Monch' ·
Lavender-blue daisies with yellow centres from July to October, one of the longest seasons of any perennial. It needs good drainage, especially in winter.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Frikart's aster 'Monch'
The planner designed this bed around Frikart's aster 'Monch' 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 Frikart's aster 'Monch' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Frikart's aster 'Monch' × 3, lavender
- 2 Sea thrift × 8, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 8, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Pearly everlasting × 3, white
- 7 Persian fritillary × 5, purple
- 8 Tulip × 10, pink
Why this plant
- The only lavender.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over pearly everlasting (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to persian fritillary (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 13 weeks. From mid July to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last four weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 47% of the visual weight and the right half 53%. Cool colours (lavender, pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 Frikart's aster 'Monch' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Often called the best perennial of all for its flowering season. Its soft blue links the pinks of summer to the yellows of autumn. Leave the stems standing over winter and cut back in spring; it is hardier that way.
- Months of soft blue in a sunny border
- A partner for roses and pink flowers
- Cut flowers
What to plant with Frikart's aster 'Monch'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': in flower together for nine weeks, from mid July; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for 10 weeks, from mid July; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about Frikart's aster 'Monch'
Does Frikart's aster 'Monch' need sun or shade?
Frikart's aster 'Monch' 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 Frikart's aster 'Monch' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °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 Frikart's aster 'Monch' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid July to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early 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 Frikart's aster 'Monch' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Frikart's aster 'Monch' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 three in one group.
Is there a native plant like Frikart's aster 'Monch'?
Frikart's aster 'Monch' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Anise hyssop: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in taller, flowers early July to early September.
- Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in shorter, pink, not lavender.
- Black-eyed Susan: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in shorter, yellow, not lavender.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after Frikart's aster 'Monch'?
Frikart's aster 'Monch' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ 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.
- Swamp sunflower: from late September to late October, 6½ ft tall.
What does Frikart's aster 'Monch' look like in winter?
Frikart's aster 'Monch' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Aster
- Alpine aster Aster alpinus
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai' Aster tataricus 'Jindai'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October; daisies; lavender
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.