It’s a good thing that I planted Aster ‘September Ruby’ in the back of my flowerbed because it grew like gangbusters this summer. It’s supposed to reach 36 to 48 inches tall, but my plant topped out at over 5 feet.
I staked ‘September Ruby’ once it hit 3 feet tall. I don’t know if it would stand up on its own at 4 or 5 feet tall when growing in full sun. My plant only gets morning sun and then high shade for the rest of the day, so no matter what height it reaches during a given summer it will probably always need staking.
That’s okay because this cultivar is not stingy with the flowers. ‘September Ruby’ started blooming in September and continued until our first hard frost late last week.
The flowers are described as ruby-red or ruby-rose but I think they are more of an electric purple:
The flowers look lovely with late-blooming goldenrods, and the honeybees love them.
‘September Ruby’ is hardy in Zones 3-8.