White wood aster (Eurybia divaricata)
White wood aster is an adaptable wildflower common to woodland edges. Its clouds of white flowers held on dark purplish-brown stems provides late summer/early fall interest in a shaded or partially shaded garden. They provide nectar to bees, and the flower centers change from bright yellow to dark pinkish purple after they’ve been pollinated. White wood aster is a host plant for the Pearl Crescent butterfly, and the seeds provide a food source for songbirds and small mammals. They spread via rhizome to form 2′ to 5′-wide colonies over time.
Natural habitat: Woodland edges, clearings
Light requirements: Part to full shade; dappled sun
Soil requirements: Average – moist to occasionally dry; clay to rocky
USDA hardiness: Zones 3-8
Height: 1′-3′
Spacing: 1′-3′
Wildlife value: Bees, pollinators, birds
Deer resistance: Resistant
Rabbit resistance: Resistant
Germination requirements
60 CMS; requires light to germinate
White wood aster seeds require 60 days of cold moist stratification (abbreviated CMS in many reference guides). Stratification is the process of pre-treating seeds to mimic their natural cycles in an artificial setting.
Cold moist stratification can be achieved by sowing the seeds in your planting medium, gently watering them in, and setting them outside for a minimum of 60 days of temperatures consistently below 40 degrees. They will germinate when the soil warms up in spring. Alternatively, you can mix the seeds with a small amount of moist (not wet) sand, perlite, or vermiculite in a plastic baggie and place it in a refrigerator for 60 days. After chilling the seeds for 60 days, sow them by spreading out the contents of the baggie on the surface of your medium and gently water them in.
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