Shrub aster

The article presents the shrub aster: photos, characteristics, description, rules for planting, care, reproduction.

Shrub aster is a perennial flowering plant belonging to the Symphyotrichum family, native to North America. The flowering period of the shrub aster falls in autumn (sometimes spring), when many garden flowers are already finishing their flowering. This allows you to create spectacular blooming compositions at a time when it becomes gloomy and grayish around. The variety of colors of this perennial can transform any space around it.

Shrub aster: description and characteristics

Perennial aster shrub: photo of flowers

Shrub aster has spread throughout the territory of our country, and it is most popular in central Russia. This is due to the fact that this perennial is a rather unpretentious plant, calmly tolerating our winters, but demanding on the amount of moisture in the soil (which just coincides with the average climatic norms of the temperate climate of Russia).

The flowering period of aster shrubby depends on the specific variety and can be in spring or autumn. Unfortunately, not all varieties have time to start flowering before the onset of stable frosts, and sometimes they are grown for the sake of beautiful greenery. After all, this aster is a bush of a very attractive spherical shape that does not need to be adjusted. This form is inherent in bush asters due to a strong, branching root system, from which many stems grow, reaching half a meter in height. The leaves of the shrub aster are medium-sized, lanceolate, of a dark shade of green, there are a lot of them in the bush, which also creates the effect of splendor.

The shrub aster has a very wide range of colors, from reds and blues to pure white. Flowers are collected in corymbose inflorescences, each about 4 cm in size.

Shrub aster: species and varieties with photos and names

Here are the most popular varieties of aster shrubs, the beauty of the flowers of which you can observe in your garden before the onset of severe cold weather:

• Alice Haslam (Kustarnikova astra Alice Haslam)

Shrub aster: photo of flowers

It is a low-growing bush, about 30cm in length. The flowering period is the first part of September-end of October. The color of the flowers is lilac.

• Shrub aster Blau Lagoon

Perennial shrub aster Blau Lagoon: photo of flowers

Reaches half a meter in height. The flowering period of the Blau Lagoon shrub aster is the second decade of August, before the onset of stable frosts. The color of the flowers is purple, slightly bluish, with a diameter of about 3 cm.

• Shrub aster Lady in blue

Shrub aster Lady in blue: photo of flowers

A hybrid with high resistance to various kinds of diseases. The height of the Lady in Blue shrub aster is approximately 40cm. The flowering period is the second decade of August and the second decade of October. The flowers are medium-sized, blue.

• Jenny's shrub aster

Jenny's shrub aster: photo of flowers

Jenny's perennial shrub aster has a long flowering (August to October) variety reaching 40cm in height. Flowers are medium-sized, numerous. Their color is pink-crimson, with a yellow core.
Jenny's shrub asters are suitable for growing in rocky areas and alpine slides. Flowers can be used for cutting.

• Bush aster Schneeckissen

Shrubby aster Schneeckissen: photo of flowers

Strongly branching undersized variety, shoots no more than 25 cm long. The flowers are small, about half a centimeter in size. The color of the flowers is light, closer to white, with a yellowish core. The flowering period is September-October.

Perennial aster shrub: planting and care

Shrub aster: photo of flowers

Shrub aster is a fairly unpretentious plant that does not require excessive care, but it still has some cultivation features.

For planting this type of asters, it is better to choose a sufficiently illuminated area, but without direct exposure to the sun. The soil on such a site should not be heavy, and the structure of the soil should be loose, well-drained.
If the aster is planted in a shaded place, this will negatively affect the abundance of its flowering.

Does not like this type of asters and waterlogged, wetlands. From an excess of moisture, root rot can occur, which ultimately leads to the loss of the plant.

This point also needs to be taken into account when determining the watering rates, because the aster also does not tolerate drought.
The area on which it is planned to grow asters should be determined and prepared in advance, in the fall. The selected area is dug up, and the soil is filled with compost or humus (2-3kg per 1m?).

With the onset of warmth, the plot prepared in the fall can be calcified, this has a beneficial effect on the duration of aster flowering, and will also help keep the plant healthy.

To carry out the liming procedure, you will need 100 g of lime for 3-4 buckets of water. The resulting solution is poured into the ground to the depth to which the asters will be planted.

Liming is also not a bad thing to carry out in the following seasons after planting, in spring and autumn.

After liming, the soil is leveled, shed and the plants are planted directly. It is better to do this with the onset of the evening, leaving 35-40 cm gaps between the planted plants.

Even a novice gardener will not have any particular difficulties while caring for perennial aster. Asters need moderate watering, subsequent loosening of the soil and timely removal of weeds.
In addition, to increase the growth of the root system, you need to huddle the bush even before it begins to branch.

To maintain the beautiful spherical shape of the bush, it is better to plant the plant in calm places. Otherwise, it will need to be tied up. A garter can be done by pulling a rope between two supports (eg pegs). A garter is also necessary for tall varieties of bush asters (when the plants reach more than 80 cm in height).

As the flowers wilt, they need to be cut off, this will extend the flowering period of the aster.
Timely feeding will not be superfluous for a perennial aster.
If, before planting the bush in the ground, you have already introduced any fertilizers into the soil, then the aster will need the first feeding only a year after planting. And if not, then you can feed the plant a few weeks after planting.

As a top dressing, you can take a specialized fertilizer for flowers, it will correctly balance all the substances the plant needs.
The aster is also responsive to the application of phosphorus fertilizers during the development of the buds, as well as during the flowering itself.

Another top dressing will be required in the spring. This time, a mixture of superphosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate (in a ratio of 3: 2: 1) will give a good result. Such dressing should be applied dry, followed by watering. An exception will be dry weather, in such conditions it is still better to carry out liquid feeding.

About the reproduction of perennial shrub asters

Shrub aster can be propagated in several ways: using seeds, cuttings, vertical layers, and also by dividing the bush. If you want to get the earliest flowering possible, you can use planting through seedlings.

Propagation using seeds

This is perhaps the most laborious and time-consuming method. But on the other hand, as a result, you will receive absolutely healthy planting material.

In order to plant the seeds of bush asters, they must first be kept in a fungicide solution (for 5-10 minutes). The seeds prepared in this way are carefully laid out on the soil surface in pre-prepared containers. From above, the seeds are covered with a thin layer of calcined sand. The container with the plantings is covered with glass or film, creating the greenhouse conditions necessary for germination.

They put such mini-greenhouses where the sun's rays will fall on them. Water the plantings as needed. It is also necessary to air the plantings every day by opening them.

Seedlings should appear in 5-6 days, then they will need to be watered less often. After the formation of the first pair of true leaves, it is better to plant young plants in individual containers, this will significantly improve root growth.

For this, the containers are filled with soil, spilled, and when the water is absorbed, the seedlings are planted, deepening to the cotyledon leaves. After that, you need to water the plant again and leave it in a lighted place, but avoiding exposure to direct sunlight.

As the seedlings grow, they must be fertilized using the same complex fertilizer for flowers. After reliable rooting, containers with seedlings need to be gradually tempered by taking them out into the open air (balcony, veranda, street).

Reproduction by dividing the bush

Here you will need copies that have reached the age of 4 or more years.
The operation must be carried out in the spring, even before bud break.

The plant is carefully dug up, the soil is also carefully removed, and too old parts of the roots are removed. The bush is divided into parts so that each newly formed one has three stems and fully developed roots. All obtained specimens should be transplanted to new places, since the period during which the bush aster grows without problems in the same area is about 5 years.

Reproduction using layering

Here, you will also need adult and strong plants that have been well cared for (timely feeding was carried out).

Plants from which they plan to obtain layering, after the end of flowering, are cut to a height of up to 10 cm. After the snow melts, the cut bushes are spudded, completely covering them with earth. This must be done until the height of the bush does not exceed 25cm. After hilling, all the care measures taken are no different from the usual ones.

At the end of autumn, before the air temperatures become negative, the previously prepared plants must be dug up and the newly formed rooted layers must be disconnected. The resulting layers can be immediately planted in the place designated for them. In the spring, the plants are spud again, and then they use the methods of care already known to us. New bush aster plants using this propagation method will delight you with their flowering on average after a couple of years.

Cutting bush asters

This is the most commonly used breeding method for perennials.
It is based on the separation of cuttings (parts of the stem) from the mother plant, with their subsequent planting in greenhouse conditions for the formation of roots.

Cuttings are cut from the mother plant at an angle and cut from above to the level of the first bud. The resulting cutting should be left in the growth stimulant solution for 15 hours. And then, until the moment of disembarkation in the greenhouse, it is stored in water. The soil into which the cuttings will be planted should have the following composition: 2 parts of peat, 2 parts of sand, 1 part of sod land, and on top this compound is sprinkled with perlite or a mixture of vermiculite and sand.

In the prepared soil composition, the cuttings are planted at an angle, deepening them by 10 cm. The distance between the planted cuttings should be about 5 cm.Already 30 days after planting the cuttings, they root well, forming developed roots.

In conclusion, it should be noted once again that shrubby asters do not bring much trouble to their owner, they can be easily propagated, which means that there must be a place in your autumn garden for these beauties, delighting us with their bright colors during the general wilting of nature.

Perennial aster shrub: video about flowers