Aster (Symphyotrichum) Cotton Candy

8 Guests

3 Bedrooms

2 Bathrooms

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Luminescent, light pink flowers.

‘Cotton Candy’ has a larger, broader mounding habit than its progeny cultivars ‘Billowing Pink’ and ‘Billowing Violet’, with three-year-old in-ground plants growing to 28 inches tall and 48 inches wide and four-year-old in-ground plants growing to 33 inches tall and 63 inches wide. It will therefore require slightly greater spacing and may be more suitable toward the back of perennial beds. The inflorescences are a light pink-violet color, 1½ inches in diameter, and cover plants completely during peak bloom. The six-week bloom period of ‘Cotton Candy’ is intermediate between its progeny cultivars, lasting from mid-September to late October in USDA Zone 5.

Cultural Details

TYPE

Perennial

U.S. NATIVE

YES

Light:

Full sun
Soil:

Moist, but well-drained, fairly adaptable to many soils
Moisture:

Drought tolerant once established
Hardiness Zone

4-8
Bloom Time:

Late summer
Bloom Color:

Pink and white
Size:

36" tall by 60" wide
Diseases & Pests:

Excellent resistance to rust and powdery mildew. Deer and rabbit proof.

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What Makes Me Special?

A medium sized aster, Cotton Candy is pink and white on the same plant. Flowers begin the palest pink and fade to a brigher, deeper pink during the season, making a two-toned effect and a stunning combination.

Landscape Use

Borders, foundations, mass plantings, matrix plantings, naturalized gardens, commercial plantings

Origin

In 2008, a more formal aster improvement program was initiated at the Chicago Botanic Garden using cultivars of aromatic aster (S. oblongifolium) and New England aster (S. novae-angliae) that performed well in the plant evaluation program’s trials along with other promising selections. Breeding of aromatic aster (S. oblongifolium) resulted in the cultivar ‘Cotton Candy’, which was subsequently used as the seed parent in crosses made in September 2012 with pooled pollen of hybrid origin. This cross led to the development of the cultivars ‘Billowing Pink’ and ‘Billowing Violet’.