New England Aster

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

A meal for a vanishing bee

The bees it relies on need these same native blooms. Plant for one, and you feed both.

⚠ Supports a species at risk

Who this brings back

Supports 4 species at risk.

Barn SwallowThreatenedBird
A bird that once nested on every farm, now threatened. Native plants feed the flying insects it catches on the wing.
American Bumble BeeSpecial concernBee
It needs goldenrod and asters to fatten up before winter. The late-summer blooms most gardens are missing.
Transverse Lady BeetleSpecial concernBeetle
Our native ladybugs are being pushed out. Native plants give them aphids to hunt and cover to overwinter.

Photos: Photo by Malene Thyssen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo by Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0 · Photo by Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0

Where it grows

Moist meadows, open shorelines, and roadsides.

Other plants the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee needs