• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Michaelmas Daisies

September 29, 2023 By Carol 1 Comment

What hides in the garden all summer and then reveals itself in the fall?

Michaelmas daisies!

You may know them as asters, or Asters. Or by their new botanical genus name Symphyotrichum, which for good reason no one actually uses.

They are often called Michaelmas daisies because they are usually blooming on the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, September 29th.

There are other things celebrated on this day besides St. Michael. After a quick search, I discovered it is also National Coffee Day and National Biscotti Day. And that anyone who wants to can submit a request to make a particular day a national whatever day. It kind of takes the wind out of the sails of all those national days when you know how easy it is to make something a national day.

But back to Michaelmas and asters.

I’ve discovered over the years of growing asters in my garden that some of them can get quite tall if you don’t lop off about half of their growth in late May.

I’ve also learned that no matter how persistent you are in deadheading asters late in the fall, they’ll still self-sow in your garden, but not in a bad way. They are easy to pull out when you find them.

But I never find them all and I confess that I don’t look very hard for them. If they come up in a spot where they won’t crowd out something else, I leave them be.

Then on Michaelmas, I can walk around the garden and see them blooming here, there, and over yonder.

Interesingly enough, this year, it is the seedlings that have come up here, there, and over yonder that are actually blooming today. The others, purposely planted, are still just showing buds.

Regardless, here’s a picture of some Michaelmas daisies from a previous year.

I hope you find room for some Michaelmas daisies in your garden. They are bright spots of color at the height of the fall season. Plus, at this time of year, there will be bees, butterflies, and other pollinators all over them.

If you are new to gardening or have never grown asters, check out this article I wrote for Family Handyman all about growing asters. If you prefer to listen to gardening advice, back in fall of 2019, Dee and I talked about asters on this episode of The Gardenangelists. And if you would like to read more about Michaelmas and traditions around this day, I found this lovely article with beautiful artwork by Krisin Haakenson that you might enjoy.

Thanks for reading to the end, as always.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: perennials

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heidi Jasper says

    September 29, 2023 at 1:25 pm

    I have 6 kinds of different colors, heights, growing styles, sunlight needs,, and soil needs. Because of our Walnut trees, mums are killed by the juglone poison. So, I thrill in the blues, lavenders, whites, pinks, and purples of Asters each fall.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,192)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Sign up for my new substack newsletter

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT