Western asters were an early success for me. I collected seed down by the river in the late 90's and grew a bunch of them in pots, and then planted them in the middle of what became the prairie. They loved it here.
In fact they spread enthusiastically through the northern part of the property, and Dona expressed alarm at their vigor. They were not unlike yarrow, Missouri goldenrod, and Spring willow-herb (those last two are still to be chronicled, herein), in that they were, well, invasive. But ultimately, this wasn't a problem. They first produced huge versions of themselves over a large area, and then have gradually gotten smaller, thickened, and established themselves in a cooperative role out there. Even in this difficult year, you can see that the asters are fine.
It is very smoky and hot here now, and so I haven't gone out for a few days, but I just came in from walking through, and I am delighted to see that I seem to have eliminated Prickly lettuce and Salsify from most of the property. In the past I would go out in early August and see a new population coming up, but my suspicion that the heat and drought inspired these opportunistic plants to go early, and I was able to get them. Now, it's dry as a bone out there, and I hope those natives come back, but... no weeds. It has been a long time to get to this point.
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