Your Aster Flowers Will Flourish Alongside One Colorful Fall Companion Plant

Autumn flowering plants like asters are a great way to add beauty and color to your landscape, especially as the temperatures start to dip. Whether they be North American native asters in the genera Symphyotrichum and Eurybia or European or Asian varieties in the genus Aster, these flowers thrive in fall, attracting butterflies and other pollinators to your garden. Asters aren't the only fall flowers around, though, and mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), another iconic autumnal bloom from the Asteraceae family, can make perfect companions for them.

Not only do mums and asters tend to bloom around the same time, as they both need short day lengths to flower, but mums also grow well under similar soil and lighting conditions to many asters. Both mums and asters need well-draining soil, and while not all aster varieties require the same amounts of sunlight, many benefit from the same full or partial sun conditions that mums prefer. Planting your asters and mums together will add color and contrast to your fall garden, all with little — if any — extra effort.

Unlike asters, which are often grown from seed, mums are largely available as live plants. If you want your mums to continue to thrive for years and last longer than just the autumn season, it's best to opt to purchase mums early in the growing season instead of picking them up in autumn when they are widely available in garden centers. Since mums are hardy in zones 5 through 9, they should be able to survive the winter in much of the United States with proper care. Asters are often hardy in zones 4 through 8, allowing them to survive winters in many of the same areas as mums.

These two flowers make good companion plants, having many of the same growing requirements. However, there are still some differences between mums and asters to keep in mind when planning your garden design. While asters, being such a broad group of plants, can range widely in height from less than a foot tall to several feet tall, mums tend to be between 2 and 4 feet tall, depending on the cultivar. Mums also come in a wider range of colors than asters, with asters available in purples, blues, whites, and pinks, while mums can be found in every color but blue. Mums are also available in a wider range of forms and bloom shapes. This can allow you to create some truly unique and unexpected color combinations in your autumn garden.