Eurybia divaricata, White Wood Aster

These asters came to my Vanier backyard a few years ago as young plants that were tucked into a corner that receives a couple of hours of sunlight in the morning and then is shaded for much of the afternoon. They took a couple of years to mature but have been blooming well for the last couple of years, putting on a show of white blooms from late August until late September.

They have been lower growing than a lot of other fall Asters, with their foliage rising a bit over a foot in height and their flowers rising around another foot over that. I read online that they can grow to around 3’ tall in some settings. I suspect that this would be in areas with a bit more sunlight.

They seem to be entirely unbothered by dry conditions through the summer and are reported to also thrive in fairly deep shade, although possibly with fewer blooms, so they are definitely a species to try introducing into a dry shade garden to expand bloom season and diversity in those famously challenging conditions.

The only caution I came across online about these is that they can become prone to disease if grown in areas with poor drainage. Since most of the spaces I garden tend toward average to excessive drainage, I can’t comment either way on this but I thought that it would be worth mentioning in case you were considering them for a wet area.

In a part-shade garden, these can form a lovely, massed groundcover but also make lovely companions for Virginia Thimbleweed, Red Columbine, Downy and Hairy Woodmints, Wild Basil, Bottlebrush Grass, Large-leaved Aster, American Alumroot, Two-leaved Miterwort, Blue Stem and Zigzag Goldenrod, Heartleaved and Calico Asters, Woolly Blue Violets and Golden Alexanders.