White wood aster
Eurybia divaricata · Asteraceae
A froth of small white daisies on dark, wiry stems in early autumn, in the dry shade under trees where little else will flower.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Late August to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around white wood aster
The planner designed this bed around white wood aster when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why white wood aster stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 White wood aster × 3, white
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 7, tan
- 3 Creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple' × 9, purple
- 4 Log fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 5 Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' × 3, pink
- 6 Bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' × 1, pink
- 7 Winter aconite × 10, yellow
- 8 Early crocus × 12, lavender
Why this plant
- The only daisies. The others are spires, dense clusters, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- At the back. At 24 in it is seen over moor grass 'Greenlee' (12 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to log fern (3½ ft) and bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' (2½ 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 7 weeks. From late August to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last six weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 47% of the planted ground. Cool colours (purple, pink and lavender) with yellow as the warm note, and white and tan to calm things between them. It is planted in layers: about 6 in at the front, 12 in in the middle and 3 ft at the back.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where white wood aster goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The best late flower for dry shade. Gertrude Jekyll grew it to arch over the leaves of bergenia, a pairing still worth copying. It makes a loose carpet that knits a woodland planting together.
- Autumn flowers for dry shade
- Native woodland groundcover
- Edging a shady path
What to plant with white wood aster
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Bergenia: flowers first, mid April to early May, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about white wood aster
Does white wood aster need sun or shade?
White wood aster grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does white wood aster 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 white wood aster flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late August to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late August to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late August to early October |
| Zone 5 | Late August to early October |
| Zone 6 | Late August to early October |
| Zone 7 | Mid August to early October |
| Zone 8 | Mid August 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 white wood aster 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 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many white wood aster 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 white wood aster 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 white wood aster?
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.
Will white wood aster spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by runners and seed into a loose colony. In a small bed, pull out what you do not want.
What flowers after white wood aster?
White wood aster is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- 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.
- Common witch hazel: from mid October to late November, 15 ft tall.
What does white wood aster look like in winter?
White wood aster 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 white wood aster good for bees and butterflies?
White wood aster is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies 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.
More Eurybia
- Bigleaf aster Eurybia macrophylla
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Plants for deep shade
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants that flower in fall
- Plants for a white garden
- 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
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late August to early October; daisies; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada and United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Pearl crescent
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil, deep shade
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.