wetland wildflower

False aster

Boltonia asteroides

Also known as Boltonia, White Doll's Daisy

Native to much of the USA and southern Canada

Saskatchewan and Manitoba; Maine south to Florida, west to Texas, and north to North Dakota.

Light Full sun Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry to moist Moisture preference
Zones 3–9 Cold to heat range
Bloom Aug–Nov Flowering time
Height up to 6 ft to 1.8 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A wetland wildflower for full sun and dry to moist soil. Its white flowers peak in September. At up to 6 ft, it needs room in rain gardens, pond edges, and damp low spots. It shrugs off drought once established. Hardy in USDA zones 3–9.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The False aster's white flowers bloom August to November, peaking in September. This early-fall display draws bees and flower flies.

False aster blooms whiteFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, American Bumble Bee +57 more
Ligated Furrow Bee, Agapostemon texanus, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Modest Masked Bee, Spurred Ceratina, broad-handed leafcutter bee, Hairy-banded Mining Bee, Silky Striped Sweat Bee, Bristle Sweat Bee, Slender-faced Masked Bee, Parallel-striped Sweat Bee, Patchwork Leafcutter Bee, Goldenrod Longhorn-Cuckoo Bee, Megachile brevis, Cresson's Masked Bee, Hylaeus affinis, Experienced Sweat Bee, Megachile pusilla, Spot-sided Dark Bee, Dwarf Cellophane-cuckoo Bee, Thistle Longhorn-Cuckoo, Lasioglossum cinctipes, Bolton's Fairy Bee, Triepeolus cressonii, hoary sweat bee, Colorado Calliopsis Bee, Pigmented Miner Bee, Melissodes boltoniae, Sixteen-spotted Cuckoo Carder Bee, Colletes eulophi, Melissodes niveus, Obscure Sweat Bee, Williston's Cellophane Bee, Goldenrod Long-horned Bee, Xylocopa virginica virginica, Coelioxys octodentata, Colourful Willow Miner Bee, Eastern Cuckoo Sweat Bee, Megachile pyrrhothorax, Anthophora aeneiventris, Drury's Long-horned Bee, Cresson's Cuckoo Sweat Bee, Leioproctus clypeatus, Svastra obliqua, Colletes compactus, Colletes americanus, Coelioxys brevis, Short-horned Yellow-face Bee, Simple Miner Bee, Pseudopanurgus compositarum, Two-banded Cellophane-cuckoo Bee, Placid Nomad Bee, Melissodes dentiventris, Pseudopanurgus solidaginis, Leavitt's Armored-Resin bee, Pseudopanurgus renimaculatus
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Eastern Calligrapher, Common Drone Fly, Transverse-banded Flower Fly +24 more
Long-tailed Aphideater, Narrow-headed Marsh Fly, Thick-legged Hover Fly, Eurasian Drone Fly, Black-shouldered Drone Fly, Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Common Grass Skimmer, Tufted Globetail, Eastern Hornet Fly, Common Lagoon Fly, Orange-legged Drone Fly, Chrysanthrax cypris, Broad-headed Marsh Fly, Common Flower Fly, Toxophora amphitea, Systropus macer, Yellow-legged Bog Fly, Pseudodoros clavatus, Epistrophe emarginata, Paragus tibialis, Sphaerophoria cylindricus, grasshopper bee fly, Dioprosopa clavatus, Maize Calligrapher
Butterflies Red Admiral

also Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Fiery Skipper +14 more
American Lady, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Variegated Fritillary, Checkered White, Red-banded Hairstreak, Least Skipper, Great Purple Hairstreak, Cyaniris neglecta, Hylephila phylaeus, Cynthia cardui, Polites coras, Elkalyce comyntas, Anosia plexippus, Heodes hypophlaeas
Also visited by
- Wasps:
  
  Bald-faced Hornet, Four-toothed Mason Wasp +7 more
  Euodynerus foraminatus, Bramble Mason Wasp, Ancistrocerus capra, Perennial Mason Wasp, Euodynerus hidalgo boreoorientalis, Mediterranean Potter Wasp, Ancistrocerus campestris
- Beetles:
  
  Asian Lady Beetle, Parenthesis Lady Beetle +4 more
  Diabrotica longicornis, Onthophagus pennsylvanicus, Podabrus brunnicollis, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus
- Moths:
  
  Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Ornate Bella Moth +2 more
  Utetheisa bella, Cotton Bollworm Moth

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WetlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Much of the USA and southern CanadaUnited States (34): AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI. Canada (2): MB, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Saskatchewan and Manitoba; Maine south to Florida, west to Texas, and north to North Dakota.The same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: Dry to moistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 3–9 · Canadian 3–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: acidic, rich, also tolerates clayThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil pH: 5.3–7.0The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: MediumHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Drought tolerance: HighRelative to plants of the same type and region, inferred from where it grows, not a days-without-water figure.
Salinity tolerance: LowHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 6 ft (to 1.8 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 12+ in (30+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Aug–NovWhen it flowers.
Flower color: WhiteThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Feb–NovThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: SeedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~2 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: ModerateHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: HighHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.