FALL ASTERS
by Leonard Perry
THE MYTHOLOGY
As fall arrives in the northeast, so do the asters and goldenrod in the fields. Although native to our area, many forms of these plants also are native to other parts of the world and are recorded in myths passed down over the centuries.
In Latin aster means star, the name also used by the Greeks for this flower. The "star-flower" was believed sacred to the gods and so wreaths of asters were placed on their altars. Aster leaves were burned to frighten away serpents in medieval Europe and roots were crushed and fed to bees in poor health. Although the early English name was "starwort," later the flower was named "Michaelmas Daisy" as it blooms around St. Michaelmas Day in September.
One ancient myth arises from the Iron Age, when people learned to make tools as well as weapons of iron. The god Jupiter, angered by all the fighting and destruction from these iron weapons decided to destroy the entire race by a flood.
The gods fled the earth and the last to go, the goddess Astraea, was so saddened she asked to be turned into a star. Meantime, two mortals who had been faithful to the gods fled to the top of Mount Parnassus and were spared by Jupiter.
When the flood waters receded, all that was left around the two mortals was mud and slime. Astraea felt so sorry for them she wept, her tears falling as stardust which, when upon hitting the earth, turned to lovely starflowers or asters.
Another myth comes from Greek mythology. Each year Aegeus, king of Athens, would send seven young men and seven maidens to the king of Crete. There they would be sacrificed to the Minotaur, a creature with a bull's body and human head.
One year Aegeus' son Theseus volunteered to be one of the youth, believing he could slay the Minotaur. When he sailed for Crete he told his father, who dearly loved his son, that when he returned he would fly white sails on the ship instead of the black ones that were raised when the ship left.
Theseus did arrive at Crete, where he fell in love with the king¹s daughter Ariadne. With her help, he entered the labyrinth and killed the Minotaur.
However, on his return to Athens, Theseus forgot to hoist the white sails. Seeing the black sails his father, believing his son had been killed, then killed himself. Purple asters sprang up from the ground where his blood flowed, the result of a spell put on him by sorceress Medea, who had been once been his wife.
And then there is the Cherokee Indian legend from the southern part of our country. Two warring tribes, fighting over a choice hunting ground, aged war over a hill, down a valley, across a creek, and into a village. All the villagers were killed except for two sisters who hid in the woods. Both wore doeskin dresses, one dyed lavender-blue with fringe, the other one bright yellow.
The sisters sought out the Herb Woman who lived over the mountain in another valley. This woman gathered herbs by day and brewed magic potions by night, a gift given to her by the gods.
As the sisters slept that night under the stars, the Herb Woman looked into the future and saw that these little girls would be hunted down by the enemy. So she sprinkled them with a magic brew and covered them with leaves.
In the morning there were two flowers where the sisters had been. One was the lavender-blue aster, the fringe from the dress having been turned into the outer flower petals (ray flowers) of the aster. The other flower was the yellow goldenrod.
THE CULTURE
Close your eyes and think of the roadsides and fields of New England in the fall. Does the image that comes to mind include the purple fall asters and the yellow goldenrod?
For most people, the answer is "yes." But although we may take them for granted, the English have not. In fact, they collected them extensively earlier in this century and took them home to breed many new selections.
Many of these selections are back in this country now, along with many other species and recent selections by American growers. These generally range in bloom time from early September to late October, with a particular species or cultivar usually blooming for a couple weeks.
The main types of asters are the New York (Aster novi-belsii) and the New England (Aster novae-anqliae). The New York ones generally tend to be shorter (a foot or so) than the New England ones (three feet or more).
Hence, the New York asters generally do better in the front of a border and New England ones in back. Both come in a range of colors from red to purple, bluish to white.
The main destructive insect pest in our area seems to be the lacebug, a small grayish insect that appears in midsummer and sucks the plant juices from the undersides of leaves, primarily of the New York and related types. Leaves turn yellowish and eventually brown and fall off.
Organic or synthetic insect sprays can be used for control. Be sure to check the label to make sure the product you select is intended for control of this particular pest.
The main plant diseases seem to be powdery mildew ‹ a whitish growth on leaves from late June, mainly on the New York varieties, and rust ‹ rust-colored spots on leaves in late summer, mainly on the New England ones.
Research at the University of Vermont (UVM) and other institutions has shown that applying sprays beginning in late June, according to label directions for horticultural oils (as used for insects), will help prevent powdery mildew. Sulfur sprays can be used for rusts.
Sprays must be applied before diseases become established and must be continued throughout the season. Such diseases, although unsightly, often cause no lasting harm to the plants and vary in severity depending on the weather and even the cultivar as we've found in trials at UVM.
Many varieties of asters are available each year at local garden centers and perennial nurseries. Some of these have been used to breed new low cultivars that are often sold in mum pots to be used as a complement to fall mums.
The aster colors often contrast well with the orange, red, and yellow colors of mums. Other cultivars have been developed from other species such as alpinus, amellus, dumosus or ericoides.
While most of these are short, some such as ericoides or Heath Asters may reach two feet and be covered with hundreds of tiny white flowers. Aster lateriforus horizontalis, a species reaching one to two feet, is covered with many tiny flowers but, unlike most asters, arranged in horizontal layers. This one can also be found growing wild locally and is one of my favorites. The tiny green leaves turn a beautiful dark red in the fall, the white flowers fade to pink.
You also might want to look for a couple of recently developed cultivars of the Horizontal Aster. The frikartii hybrids are popular although they may be marginally hardy in some parts of our region or need some winter protection.
Treat asters as you would other perennials. Plant in good loamy soil as most don't like wet feet or may get frost-heaved and dry out in sandy soils. Depending on the species and size, plant a foot apart for the shorter ones, three feet apart for the taller ones.
Since most are grown and sold in pots, they can be planted any time during the season. If plants require moving or dividing, do it in May as the new shoots emerge. Most asters seem to need division every two to three years.
As with other perennials, some light fertilizer such as one-fourth to one-half cup of an organic fertilizer early in the season will help. Some of the taller asters, such as many New England ones, may need staking.