September is going to be a very lonely, boring month in my flowerbeds. All of the perennials that usually brighten my yard in early fall like mums, asters and goldenrods are blooming now. In fact some of them have already finished for the year.
One of my favorite asters is Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’. I haven’t grown this plant in many years (my previous plant was the victim of a landscaping project), but I purchased a new one this spring. The pretty, bluish-lavender flowers started appearing in mid-July.
Monch grows 2 to 3 feet tall in sun or part-sun. Some of the aster cultivars I’ve grown have developed aster yellows, but I’ve never had that problem with Monch. The plants are lush and healthy, and they don’t have any other disease or insect issues.
Monch grows in Zones 5-10, but my original plant survived some pretty nasty winters. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could grow Monch in Zone 4 as well.