Ampelaster carolinianus

?What is that vine?... It can?t be an Aster... Asters don?t vine?... but it IS! and this pretty native vine/sprawler produces a nice crop of sunny lavender flowers in late summer; a very unusual Aster, a very unusual vine! S/M

There's nothing like a climbing aster and what it brings to the garden, being one of the treasured late-summer to early fall bloomers that are such a relief at the end of a hot summer. It's like the garden gets a second wind when this and Helianthus Table Mountain start to flower. Aster carolinianus is a vine-like perennial that will ramble over structures, but left to its own self-care will wander around on the ground quite a distance. We recommend a structure so you can see more of the flower display in late summer to early autumn. It's not technically a vine because it's not self-climbing, so botanists classify it as "scandent," though if there's something for it to climb on, you would not be crazy to call it a vine. We do. Also, we see lavender as the flower color, but others call them pink! It might be one of those colors that people argue over and maybe we're all right.

It is a must-have native with lightly scented?flowers in the fall. This bushy climber will quickly adorn a fence or wall or scramble to fill in a landscape border. Honey bees love it for the late nectar and pollen! It is very drought tolerant once established.