Common name: Fleabane
Family: Asteraceae, Aster
Height x width: 1½-2' x 2'
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: alternate, smooth (glabrous) except for marginal hairs (ciliate), lower leaves in rosette and oblanceolate to spatulate, stem leaves mostly lanceolate and sessile
Flowers: heads 1-1½" across, in terminal corymbs, colorful usually blue or violet ray flowers and yellow disk flowers, daisy-like in appearance; mid-summer and sporadically into fall
Hardiness: zones 2-8 depending on species
Soil: well-drained is crucial, moderately fertile (excess results in fewer flowers)
Light: sun
Pests and problems: downy and powdery mildews, leaf spots, rusts, stem rots, botrytis blight, aphids
Landscape habit, uses: massed in front of borders, rock gardens singly or in mass, cut flowers, containers; use for same appearance as low fall asters
Other interest: name from Greek meaning "old man in spring" refering to downy young leaves of some species in spring; ancient plant first mentioned by Theophrastus; more popular in Europe than America although native to US Pacific Northwest and British Columbia
Other culture: remove old flowers (deadhead) to prolong bloom period; generally plants 2' tall or more need staking
Propagation: clump division in the fall (every 2-3 years), shoot tip cuttings in late spring before flowers form, seeds (100,000-400,000 per ounce)
Species:
aurantiacus (are-an' tee-ah-cuss)-- Orange Fleabane, zones 4-7, 9-12" tall, orange flowers in summer with greenish centers, native to Turkestan, 9-12" tall, a unique color, tolerates part shade, short-lived, parent of many hybrids
glaucus (glaw' cuss)-- Beach Fleabane, zones 3-7, 6-12" tall, lilac to violet flowers in summer, native to western US, parent of many hybrids
philadelphicus (fill-ah-dell' fi-cuss)--Common Fleabane, zones 3-8, 18-30" tall, whitish pink flowers in early summer, wildflower native to North America, smallest flowers of genus
pulchellus (pull-chell' us)--Poor Robin's Plantain, zones 3-7, 18-24" tall, rosy-purple flowers in early summer, native to eastern and central US, can spread vigorously to 2' or more by stolons especially if fertilized
speciosus (spee-cee-o' suss)-- Daisy Fleabane, zones 2-7, 20-30"
tall, purple flowers in summer, native to western US, can be a weedy wildflower,
seldom seen in gardens, a main parent of many hybrids; var. macranthus
is similar only with slightly larger flowers and ovate not lanceolate leaves;
also a parent of many hybrids
Cultivars:
| Cultivars | height | flowers | other |
| 'Adria' | 2' | lavender blue, pale yellow centers | flowers in spring |
| 'Azure Beauty' | 2½' | lavender blue, semi-double | |
| 'Azure Blue' | 2½' | light blue, semi-double | |
| 'Azure Fairy':'Azure Beauty' | |||
| 'Black Sea':'Schwarzes Meer' | |||
| 'Darkest of All':'Dunkelste Aller' | |||
| 'Dimity' | 10-12" | light pink, orange centers | one of Bloom's series |
| 'Dunkelste Aller' | 2' | violet-blue | often planted |
| 'Foerster's Darling':'Foerster's Liebling' | |||
| 'Foerster's Liebling' | 18" | double pink | |
| 'Gaiety' | 2' | bright pink | |
| 'Loveliness' | 2' | pink, semi-double | narrow leaves |
| 'New Summer Snow':'Sommerneuschnee' | |||
| 'Pink Jewel' | 30" | pink shades | from 'Rose Jewel' |
| 'Prosperity' | 18" | lavender-blue, large, semi-double | |
| 'Quakeress' | 18-24" | light mauve pink | |
| 'Rose Jewel' | 30" | lilac rose | |
| 'Rose Triumph' | 24" | rose pink, semi-double | |
| 'Rosenballet' | 2' | lavender rose | |
| 'Schwarzes Meer' | 2' | deep violet, yellow center | |
| 'Shining Sea':'Strahlenmeer' | |||
| 'Sincerity' | 30" | mauve blue | good in northeast US |
| 'Sommerneuschnee' | 24" | white, pink blush | many flowers |
| 'Strahlenmeer' | 2' | pink, narrow rays | |
| 'White Quakeress' | 18-24" | off white | |
| 'Unity' | 20" | bright pink, narrow rays | |
| 'Wuppertal' | 24" | lilac | |
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS123 course.
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