COLORSCAPING
FALL COLOR: Fall asters, red spider lilies add spark to gardens and wildscapes
October 14, 2023
By Kathy Chilek/Victoria County Master Gardener
CONTRIBURED PHOTO BY PIXABAY — Fall Asters
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY PIXABAY — Goldenrod
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY PIXABAY — Red Spider Lily
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY KATHY CHILEK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
The Habranthus texanus
After watching the sun air-fry most summer flowers to a crisp, I am eagerly waiting for our fall aster (Symphytrichum oblongifolium) to explode absolutely overnight into a gorgeous sphere of purple blossoms. All summer the fall aster has been a humdrum bush of plain green leaves just sitting there while every other plant paraded its gorgeous flowers around us like showgirls.
If I hadn’t been blown away by the first aster I ever saw in full bloom, I would never have looked twice at the meek little shrub labeled “fall aster” at the plant store.
After being planted and establishing roots, all that aster’s branches turned black after the first good freeze. I thought it was a goner, but eventually, small green rosettes appeared at its base.
Some rosettes could be gently dug up and moved to start new plants. During spring and summer light pruning helped fall asters grow bushy, stay nicely shaped and encouraged more blooms to form.
Then it happened. One fall morning with no warning, the entire bush was smothered in a blanket of purple flowers with golden centers. Most of the other garden flowers had retired for the season but fall aster had become a real showstopper.
Fall aster has many endearing features. It is a precious source of nectar in fall for bees and butterflies. Once established, it is drought tolerant.
Its mature height and width of 2 to 3 feet make it a perfect size for mid-bed planting between taller trees and shrubs and shorter, front border plants. It is happy in either full or part sun when hot summers burn up less tolerant plants. To top it all off, it comes back after hard freezes and deer are “supposed to” not eat it.
Another plant whose beautiful blooms spring up unexpectedly in the fall is the red spider lily. (Lycoris radiata). A bulbous perennial in the amaryllis family, bulbs are best planted in groups in spring in well-drained soil.
They remain dormant until late summer, then shoot up a single, bare, 1-foot stem with coral red flowers perched in a circle on top. Uniquely, each flower has extra-long stamens curving up and out from the center which gives the appearance of spindly spider legs.
After the bloom dies, strappy leaves grow until the heat of the following spring causes the bulbs to go dormant again.
Originating in Asia, red spider lily was brought here around 1854. Since then, it has naturalized throughout the southern states and midwest. Its name, Lycoris radiata, has an interesting history.
Lycoris, the genus name, was the name of a Roman actress, a female friend of Marc Antony, the man who joined Roman senators in killing Julius Caesar. Radiata, the species name, simply means “spoke” which describes the arrangement of flowers like spokes on a wheel.
These bulbs contain toxic alkaloids so should be kept away from children and pets.
While considering adding fall aster and red spider lily to your spring plantings, be sure to look for special fall wildflowers appearing now. In your own yard, spot what looks like gold-colored versions of typical white rain lilies. They are called Habranthus texanus. They are a unique species of rain lily.
Finally, watch for gorgeously plumed goldenrod (Solidago sp.). Blamed for years for causing miserable allergies, it was scientifically exonerated when ragweed, in bloom at the same time as goldenrod, was found to be the true culprit.
Native Americans used goldenrod medicinally for many ailments. Thomas Edison created a means of increasing its rubber content which was made into tires.
Many more fall wildflowers await your discovery. Happy hunting!
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
References:
deerassociation.com/know-deer-plants-partridge-pea/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycorisradiata
7 surprising benefits of goldenrod
smithsoniangardens.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/the-magic-of-rain-lilies