The New York Aster, or Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, is a clump forming, herbaceous perennial with violet flowers. This plant, that is also known as a Michaelmas daisy, is in the Asteraceae family. In size the New York aster can reach a height of around 1.5 metres tall and can spread to one metre across. The common name of Michaelmas daisy comes from the fact that many species within this genus are in flower on the feast of St. Micheal that falls on the 29th September. The binomial name of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii has the following meanings:

• Symphyotrichum-comes from two Greek words ‘symph’ that means ‘coming together’ and ‘trichum’ which means ‘hair‘.
• Novi-belgii-connected with New York. The word ‘nova’ is used within compound words to denote something as ‘new’.

The mid-green leaves are lanced-shaped and narrow, reaching up to ten centimetres long. The leaves appear from a multi-branched stem. Margins of the leaves are mostly entire, but some are slightly toothed.

When flowering, the New York aster is covered in flowers that can be shades of purple or white, all with yellow centres. The flowers appear in late summer and autumn. Flowers can reach seven millimetres in diameter.

As indicated by the name, the New York aster is a native of North America. it normally grows in slightly brackish water, as well as in fresh, tidal marshes, along shoes and moist areas in general. Sand, loam and clay soils are all fine, and it will be happy in poor soils. It pefers full sun, but will be happy enough in part shade.

In cultivation, the soil needs to be moist, but also well-drained as the New York aster can’t tolerate waterlogged soil. Propagation is through division in spring. In late autumn, cut all stems down to the ground and new growth will appear from the rhizome in spring. Potential pests include aphids, slugs, snails, and leaf and bud eelworms. While resistant to powdery mildews, potential diseases include fusarium wilt, leaf spot and grey moulds.

The New York aster is a lovely plant that I would have in my garden, probably mass planted in a border.

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/symphyotrichum-novi-belgii

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/340057/symphyotrichum-novi-belgii/details

https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/nsw.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=aster~novi-belgii