Skip Mums: Plant This Native Fall Flower Pollinators Actually Use
Garden centers fill with chrysanthemums as soon as fall arrives, making mums an easy choice for adding purple, yellow, orange, or red around a porch or flower bed. But another fall bloomer can bring similar color while serving a bigger role once many summer flowers have faded.
New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) produces masses of purple to pink, daisy-shaped flowers from late summer into fall. Native to much of North America, the perennial returns each year and becomes valuable when fewer flowers remain available to bees and butterflies.
University of Minnesota Extension lists asters among its recommended fall perennials for pollinators, citing their late nectar and attraction to bees and butterflies. The Xerces Society also identifies asters as an important late-season pollinator resource, with Bumble Bee Watch records showing hundreds of observations on plants in the Symphyotrichum genus.
Why asters matter as summer flowers disappear
Timing is one reason New England aster stands out in a fall garden. Its purple to pink flowers open from late summer into early fall, when many summer bloomers are reaching the end of their season. The flowers provide both nectar and pollen and attract bees, butterflies, and skippers.
The gardener behind Growit Buildit has grown New England aster for more than 10 years and has watched that activity firsthand. “These plants are busy when in bloom,” he says, noting that bees, skippers, and butterflies gather around the flowers.
That late bloom can also overlap with monarch migration. Although New England aster isn’t milkweed, its nectar gives adult monarchs another food source as they travel south.
The plant doesn’t produce just a handful of flowers, either. One New England aster can carry hundreds of blooms, and the gardener says its flowering period can stretch for up to two months depending on growing conditions.
Mums aren’t useless to pollinators
Skipping mums doesn’t mean chrysanthemums have no place in a pollinator garden. Some mums can provide nectar and pollen, and Iowa State University Extension notes that both asters and chrysanthemums can help sustain insects during fall.
The difference is what you gain from choosing a native aster. Native asters have relationships with insects beyond providing a temporary nectar stop. New England aster can also serve as a host plant for butterfly and moth caterpillars, adding another function to a plant already producing late-season flowers.
Plant origin matters here as well. “Aster” covers many plants, including non-native species sold for ornamental gardens. Look for a species native to your region rather than assuming every plant labeled aster offers the same ecological value.
New England aster comes back after the mums are gone
New England aster is a herbaceous perennial rather than a fall decoration destined for the compost pile after frost. Depending on growing conditions, plants can reach several feet tall and return from their roots the following spring.
Give the plant full sun for the strongest flowering, though it can tolerate some partial shade. New England aster can also handle a range of soil conditions once established. Taller plants may need support, especially when stems become loaded with flowers.
Its size makes placement important. Instead of putting it along the front edge of a small flower bed, use it toward the back of a perennial border, along a fence, or mixed with other native plants where its height can become part of the planting.
For a smaller space, look for a native aster suited to your region and available growing area rather than choosing New England aster based on color alone.
Mums can still fill a porch pot for fall, but they don’t have to be the default choice every time October arrives. A native aster can provide the fall color you’re after while keeping flowers available for pollinators when much of the garden has already stopped blooming.
Would you replace a few of your fall mums with native asters if the flowers brought more bees and butterflies into the garden?