Symphyotrichum ericoides
Symphyotrichum ericoides
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
The plant is best adapted to dry and medium wet, well-drained soils found in open areas like prairies with sandy, gravelly, or rocky substrates. It is drought hardy and does well in sun and partial sun[1]. The plant is generally not browsed by deer[1].
Propagation
Seed - surface sow in spring in a cold frame. Do not allow the compost to become dry. Pre-chilling the seed for two weeks can improve germination rates[2]. The seed usually germinates in 2 weeks at 20°c[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring or autumn[3]. Basal cuttings in late spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Symphyotrichum+ericoides>
Pollinators
Bees, Lepidoptera
References
- [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
- [2]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.