This aster grows in moist meadows, marshes, prairies, stream banks and disturbed sites across central and eastern North America, from Quebec and Maine south to South Carolina and west to the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Late flowers feed butterflies, bees, moths and flies, and the seeds feed songbirds through fall and winter.
The genus name Symphyotrichum comes from Greek words meaning to bring together and hair, and the species name refers to New England. The English name Michaelmas daisy refers to its flowering around 29 September, Michaelmas. More than 70 cultivars exist, twelve with the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, including 'Brunswick' and 'Helen Picton'.