Zone: 2 to 7
Soil: Sand to clay
Light: Full sun to part sun
Bloom colour: White rays with yellow centres
Bloom period: Late spring to early summer
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Moisture: Dry to medium
Attracts: Bees and butterflies
Notes: Fleabanes have quite attractive flower heads that resemble white Asters. Most Asters flower in the fall while Fleabanes are flowering at the beginning of summer, so these plants are easy to identify. If you let these plants grow like a weed, then they will look like weeds. If you treat them like other flowering forbs, then they can look a it is really worthwhile plant. Fleabanes provide an important source of nectar and pollen to lots of small carpenter bees and sweat bees in late spring when many other plants have yet to flower. I would not have a pollinator garden without them.
The most common species and the most adaptable is Philadelphia Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus, which is widely distributed in both the Eastern and Western parts of North America. It is biennial and in it first year it will form a basal rosette. I gather the rosettes and replant them in a single location in a sunny part of the garden. In this way, they look like they are supposed to be there. They can flower in light shade but it takes longer to reach the flowering stage under these conditions. Typically, I would put about 10 rosettes together to get a significant clump of these plants that will attract many bees and the odd butterfly. As soon as the plants have finished flowering, they can be pulled or they can be left to go to seed. This plant will grow to about 3 feet high in the sun and to lesser heights in the shade. Being a biennial, it spreads by seed and is therefore common on disturbed ground.
Another native fleabane that is easy to find is Robin's Plantain, Erigeron pulchellus. It is perennial and forms basal rosettes for most of the year except when flowering. The flowering stalks are about 1 foot high. This is a great plant to put at the front of the border where the basal rosettes will form a carpet of shiny leaves or it can fill in space under an overhanging shrub. Over time the rosettes send out rhizomes and form slowly spreading clumps. Compared to Philadelphia Fleabane, Robin's Plantain is much tidier looking and has larger flower heads. Its blooming period is slightly earlier and shorter than Philadelphia Fleabane. It does well in part sun and is highly drought tolerant. It needs a well drained growing medium and does really well on sandy soils. It is a fantastic living mulch. |
