Photo by Gary Kurtz
The flat-topped aster typically grows two to five feet tall and can spread two to four feet wide. Its small, daisy-like flowers are white with yellow centers, each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch across, and are arranged in flat-topped clusters at the top of the stems. The leaves are three to six inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch wide, lanceolate-elliptic in shape, with smooth margins and a medium to dark green upper surface and a pale green or whitish green lower surface. Flat-topped aster thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers moist to occasionally wet soils, commonly found in wet sand prairies, damp thickets, wet meadows, and along the borders of swamps. It does well in slightly acidic, sandy loam soils and can tolerate a range of moisture conditions.(SF)