Can someone tell me the Latin name for this flower listed in Michigan Bulbs Co. catalog as "Super Aster"? http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_14951_A_Aster,+Super+-+Buy+3,+Get+3+Free_E_ Thanks, 3dognite pam
Thanks Daniel and Ron, Duh, it helps to scroll down the page, huh! LOL That is where I found at the very bottom "Additional Information: Cross of A. amellus x A thomsonii." Ron, you said the real item is not as compact and blue. I thought the cross between A.aqmellus and A. thomsonii was (Aster x frikartii), the electric blue flower. Do you think if I bought that plant (which I can't 'cause they don't ship to Alaska! :-( ) it would be taller/bigger and not be the same color blue? I did a seed swap with someone who said her seeds were "Super Aster". I guess I'll find out this summer what they look like. I hope they are that dazzling blue. They're striking! 3dognite/pam
Some plant catalogs are known for making their pictures appear in unnatural ways. The real plant would be less compact and definitely not blue. Bluish, sure. Bluer than other cultivars, yes. But not blue.
It would probably be more rewarding for you to try get 'Monch' going there instead: "Without doubt this, one of the original hybrids, is the finest Aster for long display; it lasts twice as long as any Amellus variety, and is far more elegant and refined, is stout and upright, and freely branching. The individual blooms are beautifully rayed, in clear lavender-blue, appearing from July to October. It prefers sun, and is worth good soil and the very best position in the garden. Its colour is so gentle that it blends with any other colour; if placed next to flowers of like colour it shames them by its cool quality. There were three seedlings originally raised by Frikart in Switzerland around 1920; they were named after the three famous mountains, Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. The last is by far the best; the other two are nearer to A. amellus. A subsequent seedling was named 'Wunder von Stafa'; this is less blue than 'Monch' with less perfect flowers, and usually needs staking. 'Monch' is not only the finest perennial aster; it is one of the six best plants, and should be in every garden..." --Perennial Garden Plants, Graham Stuart Thomas, Sagapress/Timber Press where 'Monch' is also said to grow 90 cm (3 ft) high and have a spacing of 38 cm (15 in) and to be hardy to USDA 5.
