Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

1 rating

Saturday - April 16, 2005

From: Denver, CO
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Asters bloom period
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

When do the asters bloom?

ANSWER:

For the aster family, Family Asteraceae, (which has flowers with the common names of asters, daisies, and sunflowers) you can find some members of its family blooming at any time of the year. Within the Family Asteraceae there are many different flowers that are called by the common name "aster". In general, those different "asters" tend to bloom in the summer and fall. For instance, the fall aster fall aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) blooms, as its common name implies, in the fall. The Engelmann's aster (Eucephalus engelmannii) blooms in the summer.

If you know the scientific or common name of the particular aster you are interested in, you can go to the Native Plants Database to search for it and learn when it blooms, its other characteristics, distribution, and more.

Native Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

rate this answer

Saturday - April 16, 2005

QUESTION:

ANSWER:

More Wildflowers Questions