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| the plant formerly known as Aster laevis 'Bluebird' |
The poor bumblebees were desperately clinging to it during yesterday's wicked wind.
We now interrupt this post for a short video of said wind.
This wasn't the worst of it, but I refused to stand out there while it was really wild. The other "tombstones" got blown down, and that last one ended up by the side of the driveway by evening.
We now return to our regularly scheduled post.
The pollinators prefer this ex-aster to all others, practically pushing each other out of the way.
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| bumblebees on S. laeve 'Bluebird' |
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| 'Bluebird' with Sporabolus heteroleptsis, Phlox pilosa, and the blooms of sweet alyssum |
Thanks goes to Gail of Clay and Limestone for hosting Wildflower Wednesday.
13 comments:
'Bluebird' sounds like a real winner, voted for by the bees. They've were frantically clustered on the Sheffield mums here for a couple of weeks. Glad you sheltered from the wildest of the wild wind :)
Beautiful Floweres! We had a couple of nights of hard wind here too, they took away a lot of the petals of my new winter cosmos
It is one of my favorite ex-asters. Love it! Your wind was fierce. Looked like Oklahoma (wind sweeping down the plains). Why in the world were the asters renamed? :))
B, I have many wild ex-asters, but must get this one. The blue is spectacular! I stubbornly cling to aster and ex-aster. Will any of your asters bloom if the days warm up? I love wildflowers~I'm glad you do, too. Gail ps We had those fierce winds, too, and a neighboring community had a tornado.
That wind is something. I'm putting that aster on my must-get list
I saw that the wind was being equally horrific in your neck of the woods, Barbara. Hope it's died out by now. Here, it's doing its regular thing tonight, but it's been the autumn of muchos wind so what's new. The aster is gorgeous, even if it is an ex-aster now...
Although I usually prefer species natives to cultivars, I'm strongly considering replacing my S. laeve with 'Bluebird' because it just looks so much more vigorous (and mildew resistant). And how 'bout this wind?!
'Bluebird' is a real beauty...and red foliage in the fall is definitely a plus. This ex-aster sounds like a real winner!
We had the same gale force winds here; it's a wonder there are any leaves left at all on the trees.
Lovely asters (or should I say ex-asters!) Mine are just going over as are the Rudbeckias
The lighting in that first photo is beautiful. A great capture. You just can't go wrong with asters. The bees told me this.
Love your asters too. I have the same question as Dee: why and when did asters become ex-asters?
Cyndy - the bees prefer 'Bluebird' to my Sheffield mum. I do too.
fer - I haven't fully assessed the damage from the wind, but it was its worst last night.
Dee & Patty - the scientists discovered that the Western Hemisphere asters are genetically distinct from those of Europe, and, because the European Asters were named first, they got to keep the name. It's been changed for several years now, but I can't remember exactly when, maybe 2007?
Gail - I wish I could share a piece of 'Bluebird', but I've had trouble dividing it and lost the divisions and the parent plant. I need to buy several more of them.
ROR - I didn't know 'Bluebird' was a better performer than the species. I just thought it had bluer blooms.
Lisa - you are wise to listen to the bees.
I'll have to look for 'Bluebird'. I love the color, and I was planning on looking for some asters that have a longer bloom season.
I enjoyed your video of the wind. Your neighborhood looks like mine. We had that wind, too. It's still windy, but not as much as it was the last few days.
I hope your hand is healing.
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