Grape Crush carries semi-double flowers, which is unusual in a New England aster and gives the blooms noticeably more substance than the single daisies most asters produce. Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Grape Crush' grows 26 to 30 inches tall and spreads 40 to 44 inches, wider than it is tall, in full sun to part sun. Hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 8, blooming the first season after planting.
The color is deep saturated purple, and the flowers come thickly enough to form a solid dome. Bloom starts in late summer and runs into fall, overlapping the monarch migration, with bees coming to it steadily through the flowering. The foliage feeds pearl crescent and silvery checkerspot caterpillars.
The habit is naturally mounded and holds together without staking or a June cutback, and the wide spread means one plant covers real ground at the front of a border.
New England asters want moist soil and take wet ground better than most perennials. Full sun gives the heaviest bloom and helps keep the foliage clean. Deer generally leave it alone.