While this plant's common name, fleabane, doesn't inspire thoughts of beauty, it is a lovely perennial. Fleabane has yellow-centered, daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, yellow, purple, and white in summer. Fleabane leaves are usually dark green or gray-green.

Plant facts

  • Common name: Fleabane
  • Botanical name: Erigeron spp.
  • Zones: 2 to 8, depending on species
  • Size: To 3 feet tall, depending on species
  • From: Areas of Europe, Asia, and North and South America
  • Family: Compositae (daisy family)


Growing conditions

  • Sun: Full sun or partial shade.
  • Soil: Moist, but well-drained soil rich in organic matter.
  • Moisture: Water during times of drought.


Care

  • Mulch: Lay a 2- to 3-inch-deep layer of mulch over the soil around the plants. Use winter mulch only after the soil has frozen.
  • Pruning: Cut plants back in autumn after freezing temperatures arrive or in spring before plants begin to grow.
  • Fertilizer: Fertilizer is generally not necessary in soils that are rich in organic matter. If desired, use a balanced fertilizer in spring.


Propagation

  • Seed: Sow seeds indoors or in the garden in spring.
  • Division: Divide in spring.


Pests

  • Aphids: These small insects often appear in large numbers on new growth. Each day, spray them off with a stream of water; they will not attack a plant after being knocked off. Use an insecticidal soap or neem-oil-based spray if infestations are severe.
  • Leaf spot: In summer or autumn, the leaves become spotted yellowish or with darker colored spots. Each spot often has concentric rings around it, forming something of a bull's-eye pattern. To deter it, prune the plant to keep good air flow and avoid wetting the foliage in afternoons and evenings.
  • Powdery mildew: This disease tends to appear in mid- to late summer and looks like someone dusted affected leaves with a grayish powdery covering. The leaves then drop off. To deter the disease, prune the plant to keep good air flow and avoid wetting the foliage in afternoons and evenings.


Garden notes

  • Divide plants every couple of years to keep them vigorous.

Selections

  • Erigeron auranticus: Ground cover with orange flowers in summer. To 1 foot tall. Zones 5 to 8.
  • Erigeron alpinus: Yellow-centered blue or purplish flowers in summer. To 1 foot tall. Zones 5 to 8.
  • Erigeron ‘Azure Fairy': Yellow-centered, double blue flowers in summer. To 1 foot tall. Zones 5 to 8.
  • Erigeron ‘Charity': Semi-double yellow-centered pink flowers in summer. To 2 feet tall. Zones 5 to 8.
  • Erigeron ‘Prosperity': Yellow-centered bluish flowers in summer and autumn. To 2 feet tall. Zones 4 to 8.
  • Erigeron ‘Serenity': Yellow-centered bluish-purple flowers in summer. To 3 feet tall. Zones 5 to 8.
  • Erigeron speciosus: Purple flowers in summer. To 2 feet tall. Zones 2 to 8.
  • Erigeron ‘Summer Snow': Yellow-centered double white flowers in summer. To 2 feet tall. Zones 3 to 8.
  • Erigeron tweedyi: Dwarf species to 8 inches tall bearing white flowers in spring. Zones 5 to 8.