Michaelmas daisy toughs it out (From York Press)

Michaelmas daisy toughs it out

10:52am Saturday 19th November 2011 in Gardening By Gina Parkinson

GINA PARKINSON celebrates an autumn star turn that keeps on flowering as winter hovers near.

ALTHOUGH the garden is rapidly heading to its winter slumber, a few precious plants manage to flower through the month. The mild temperatures have helped and in sheltered spots odd blooms can be found basking in the occasional sunshine.

When we moved here just over a year ago, we brought along a few plants from our old garden. It didn’t seem right to take too much; those plants had been bought for that garden and as we were moving to a well-stocked plot anyway, we took only a few favourites.

One of these is a Michaelmas daisy we have had for a number of years. It is a tough little plant that survived its summer disruption last year and has settled into its new spot very happily.

Flowering last autumn was poor, which was to be expected. It was dug from the ground just as the flowers were beginning to form, but over the summer new shoots appeared and it has been blooming for weeks this autumn.

This particular Michaelmas daisy is Aster latifolius. It isn’t the most striking member of the family, but in the sunny spot it prefers, a well-established specimen will flower away all autumn while the rest of the plants die back.

Numerous tiny flowers cover the stems, the white petals sometimes taking on a pink tinge that reflect the darker pink centres.

Wiry stems make up a bushy plant that grows to around 60cm tall with a similar spread, and as long as the soil is fairly well-drained in winter, this aster can be left to do its own thing for years.

Mildew doesn’t seem to be a problem; there is no sign of it on our plant despite the extremely dry spring we had this year. Since it doesn’t grow particularly tall, Aster latifolius is perhaps best grown towards the front of a bed and away from thuggish perennials that may overwhelm its dainty nature. Ours has been put in the corner of a bed with variegated euonymus behind.

Michaelmas daisies are generally easy to look after. They almost all prefer a sunny, well-drained site. Mildew can be a problem with some varieties, but varieties of the novae-angliae group are usually disease-free, as is the wonderful Aster frikartii ‘Monch’. This latter plant begins flowering as early as July and will continue well into September with its lovely large, lavender-blue flowers.

Although most like sun, there is one species that does well in a shady spot and can be used to provide ground cover in a difficult dry area. Aster macrophyllus has large, heart-shaped leaves on strong stems that are topped with pale lilac flowers in summer and early autumn.

It spreads quickly, which can be a problem in a restricted area, but the emerging plants in spring are usually easy to identify and remove. Apart from disliking poorly drained winter soil, Aster macrophyllus is easy to grow and mingles well with other ground-cover plants such as sweet woodruff and lamium.

Weekend catch-up

THE warm weather we have seen this month has meant no let-up with the task of mowing the lawn. Lessening light has slowed down the growth, but the task still seems to be necessary every week or so to keep the grass looking good.

Cold weather will inevitably descend and the mower will be put to bed for a few months, but before then it is a good idea to clean it up and oil any parts that may rust in the damp atmosphere of a garden shed or garage.

Scraping away dried-on grass from the underside of the machine and cleaning up the blade will leave the mower ready to use next spring when the lawn programme starts again.

TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. Presented by Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood and Bunny Guinness join chairman Eric Robson at the Durham Wildlife Trust. Meanwhile Matthew Wilson learns how to create a historical garden. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Matthew Biggs and Anne Swithinbank together with chairman Eric Robson answer questions from members of Othery Gardening Club in Somerset. Anne Swithinbank also looks at cultivation techniques in a nut forest near Totnes. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

Saturday, November 26

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia and plant expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.