Golden Aster Seeds (Heterotheca villosa)

A ridiculously long-blooming plant with a flowering period from late spring to fall. 

Widespread across western North America -- from parts of the Upper Midwest to the Pacific coast, golden aster is an incredible drought-resistant perennial. Under extreme dry conditions the foliage may dieback and go dormant (often while still producing a few flowers). Then, when precipitation returns, the plant will bounce back with its normal silvery-green foliage.

This plant is a survivor -- one that thrives in poor and sandy soils, in full sun, in freezing climates, and stands persists even where deer browse other plants into oblivion. For difficult urban sites, this could be a transformative wildflower.

While golden aster can occasionally reach 20-inches in height, 6 to 12 inches is more common, with the individual plants developing into a generous mounds covered in many bee- and butterfly-attractive flowers. (This plant is notable for attracting quite a few arid region specialist pollinators).

Very much under-planted and under-appreciated, golden aster tolerates some infrequent (+4-inch) mowing especially early in the season and will still flower at a shorter height, making it useful in wild lawn plantings. Plant this with showy fleabane and dryland grasses such as Idaho fesue, prairie junegrass, and blue grama for a beautiful short grass meadow effect.

100+ seeds (1.0 gram).