Eurybia macrophylla is a woodland aster with very large leaves, as implied by its specific epithet and common name. The basal rosettes are comprised of heart-shaped leaves, with serrated edges, that are up to 8" long and 6" wide. They form a dense ground cover through early summer, at which time they begin to wither away as the flowering stalks begin to emerge. These are unbranched, up to 4" tall, with sparse, heart-shaped leaves that become progressively smaller and more oval as they move up the stem. The flowers are borne in open clusters, are up to 1 1/2 inches across, and consist of pale whitish-lavender rays surrounding a yellow disk that turns deep orange, then red to brown with age. The seeds are attached to hairy tufts, and are carried by the wind. Its habitat is rich woodlands and clearings in Eastern North America, primarily in the northern tier and down mountain chains into North Carolina and Tennessee.
Bigleaf aster grows under the mesic conditions found in deciduous forests. It requires moisture in the beginning of the growing season, but is adapted to the dry summer environment typical of the understory. It will tolerate rocky, sandy, or clay soil, so long as it is rich in organic matter. Flower production is best in open shade or dappled sunlight. The blooming period lasts about 1 1/2 months, during late summer and early fall. Zones 3-7
Space plants 2' on center.
The root system of bigleaf aster is fibrous with rhizomes that will vegetatively form colonies, but it does not spread aggressively.
For a low-growing planting, combine Eurybia macrophylla with flowering forbs that are well suited to partial shade and consistent moisture, like Geranium maculatum (spotted geranium), Gillenia stipulata (American ipecac), Mitella diphylla (two-leaf miterwort), Polemonium reptans (Jacob's ladder), Silene stellata (starry campion), Thalictrum dioicum (early meadow-rue), and Zizia aurea (golden zizia). Then add in graminoids like Deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hairgrass), Carex sprengelii (long-beaked sedge), and Carex radiata (eastern star sedge).
The large, bold, basal foliage is this species's defining characteristic, and once it has shriveled, it can be difficult to distinguish this species from other woodland asters. A wide variety of insects are attracted to the nectar and pollen of bigleaf aster, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles, and plant bugs. Caterpillars of several butterflies and moths feed on the foliage.
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Recorded County Distribution: USDA data.
CT, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV |
Endangered | IA |
Special Concern | RI |
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain | UPL |
Eastern Mountains and Piedmont | UPL |
Great Plains | FACU |
Midwest | FACU |
Northcentral and Northeast | UPL |
MAP OF WETLAND DELINEATION REGIONS
Code |
Status |
Designation |
Comment |
OBL |
Obligate Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Almost always occur in wetlands |
FACW |
Facultative Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands |
FAC |
Facultative |
Hydrophyte |
Occur in wetlands and non-wetlands |
FACU |
Facultative Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands |
UPL |
Obligate Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Almost never occur in wetlands |
Kingdom | Plantae | Plants |
Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants |
Superdivision | Spermatophyta | Seed plants |
Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants |
Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons |
Subclass | Asteridae | |
Order | Asterales | |
Family | Asteraceae | Aster family |
Genus | Eurybia | aster |
Species | Eurybia macrophylla | bigleaf aster |
large-leaf wood-aster, large-leaved aster, big-leaved aster
Aster ianthinus
Aster macrophyllus
Aster macrophyllus var. apricensis
Aster macrophyllus var. excelsior
Aster macrophyllus var. ianthinus
Aster macrophyllus var. pinguifolius
Aster macrophyllus var. sejunctus
Aster macrophyllus var. velutinus
Aster multiformis
Aster nobilis
Aster riciniatus
Aster roscidus
Aster violaris
Sizes info
Shipping is free on all plants orders!
Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.
Shipping plugs:
Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.
When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.
After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.
Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.
Planting plugs:
We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.
We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.
Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.