Symphyotrichum laeve ‘Bluebird’- Smooth Aster

A superlative selection of smooth aster introduced by Dr. Richard Lighty of the Mt Cuba Center, Delaware. The species is one of the showier asters and an easy one to grow. The blemish-free, bluish-gray foliage provides a backdrop for large violet flowers with golden centers that are carried in a loose panicle atop sturdy stems that almost never need staking. ‘Bluebird’ has larger flowers than the species, carried on larger, fuller panicles. Like all asters, the seeds that birds miss will provide self-sown seedlings here and there around the garden. Drought-tolerant once established.