This perennial dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: well-cultivated, fertile, moist soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: August to October
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  A compact variety with lilac-blue daisy-like flowers with yellow centres from late summer and lance-shaped, aromatic mid-green leaves. This is a pretty cousin of Aster (Michaelmas Daisy) that will self-seed where happy and brighten up a mixed or herbaceous border after other perennials have done their bit. Deer and rabbit resistant, drought and salt tolerant, the abundant and long-flowering blooms of 'October Skies' are a clarion call for butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects.
  
  
• Garden care: Pinch back stems before mid-summer to promote bushiness. Dead head to avoid unwanted seedlings or cut back in late autumn to the ground and apply a generous mulch of well-rotted garden compost or horse manure around the base of the plant.