Asters landing and care

Closer to autumn, when the last warm days are leaving and school holidays are over, the time for color diversity begins in flower beds, in front gardens and flower beds. This means that the time has come for the asters to bloom. These are very beautiful flowers that amaze with their variety of shapes and shades. These unpretentious flowers will certainly decorate the site and create a rainbow mood. Next, we will tell you about the types of asters.

Rules for growing annual asters

Annual asters have a second name - callistephuses. These are the flowers that are characterized by one large flower on the stem. We can most often see such asters in flower beds. The stem is usually long, and the flowers are large in diameter, lush and bright in appearance. This plant is very popular among gardeners in almost all countries.

Landing rules

The landing site must be prepared in advance, the optimal period will be autumn. The more work and care you devote to preparing the soil, the brighter, larger and more beautiful the flower will be. The earth must be properly dug up by introducing humus into it. The flower is grown by seed. You can pre-grow seedlings, or you can sow seeds directly into the ground.

Growing with seedlings

Seeds should be sown in early spring or mid-spring. You can sow them, for example, in a greenhouse or in special containers. First, furrows are made into which the seeds are poured. Previously, it is recommended to soak the seeds in a solution of fungicides and use them to cultivate the land where the crops will be planted. This is done to protect the future plant from the "black leg". The furrows are buried and then watered with a light solution of potassium permanganate. Then the seedlings should be covered with foil. The seedling box must be placed in a dark place before the first shoots appear. After the sprouts have appeared, and this is after about 4 days, the shelter can be removed, and the containers themselves can be exposed to the light.

After at least one real leaf has grown, the seedlings must be planted in separate pots or a larger container must be selected and the seedlings must be planted, keeping a distance of about 10 cm from each other. The same transplant can be done in the greenhouse. Do not be afraid to damage the plant, as the aster calmly withstands transplantation.

At the end of spring, you can safely already plant seedlings in a flower bed or flower garden. Do not be afraid of return frosts, since asters are cold-resistant enough and can withstand temperatures below minus 3 degrees. The landing site must be open, level and sunny. Water should not stagnate on it during precipitation or irrigation.

So, the height of the flower stem should not be less than 10 cm, and the root system should be quite powerful and strong. The best time to transplant an aster is in the evening. It is necessary to dig furrows in the ground, observing the distance between them at least half a meter. The furrows are watered with water, and then it is already necessary to transplant the flowers. The distance between flowers should be about 30 cm, although here it is better to focus on the size of the future flower.

After about seven days have passed, you can feed the asters with any preparation containing a whole range of fertilizers. The next feeding should be done in a month. During a drought, abundant watering is necessary, especially in need of regular watering of soils with a high content of sand. It is also recommended to carry out preventive treatment of plants from diseases common for asters.

Seedless sowing method

In early spring, seeds are sown in specially prepared furrows in the beds. Then the bed must be watered and covered with some kind of protective material or film. Winter planting of asters is also possible. In this case, the seeds are sown into the already frozen soil, also in pre-prepared grooves.

When the flower has three true leaves, the seedlings must be thinned out, leaving a distance of about 10 cm between them. Those extra flowers are best dug up and then transplanted to another place.

Care

Asters are classified as undemanding plants. The main thing here is that the soil is fertile and nutritious, well fertilized. In this case, the flowers need only be watered on time and weeds removed from the garden.

If time permits, then it is enough to apply fertilizer a couple of times, then asters will give you large beautiful flowers growing on a healthy strong leg.

Perennial asters

Perennial species of this culture must also be planted in open, level and sufficiently sunlit places where a large amount of moisture will not accumulate. Partial shade is also suitable. Perennial asters are unpretentious in care, growing in the same place for up to six years. It is only necessary to loosen and weed the plants. This should be done carefully so as not to damage the root system of the flower. It is also recommended to treat plants with special preparations against such common diseases as gray rot and powdery mildew. These diseases most often occur on waterlogged soils.

Reproduction methods

This type of culture is propagated most often by cuttings. This must be done in the spring. The same rule applies to transplanting flowers. The shoots that appear on the stems are ideal for propagation as cuttings. New seedlings take root very quickly and produce powerful stems. Some varieties are also propagated by dividing the roots. This type of aster is not propagated by seeds.

This culture is actively grown on gravel, in a rose garden. Also, the flowers will look spectacular in combination with geraniums, violets and other colorful flowers.

Classification of crops

Annual species of this flower are divided into three types. The division is based on the shape of the petals.

There are reed asters, transitional asters and tubular flowers.

Each type is divided into several more varieties, depending on the area of ​​application.

The so-called aster cut varieties are suitable for making bouquets. They have long stems and beautiful lush flowers. Casing varieties are asters with a long flowering period, more often they have several inflorescences at once. And universal varieties are suitable both for a bouquet and just for decorating a flower bed or flower garden.

Tubular flowers are distinguished by a correspondingly tubular petal shape.

Cut-off varieties include pinnate and tubular asters. The casing variety is, for example, the midget variety. It is suitable for growing, both on the site and on the windowsill.

For the transitional type of aster, both tubular petals and reed inflorescences are characteristic. So, you can find in this form simple, coronal and semi-double flowers.

Simple asters are distinguished by a yellow center, which has a flat shape, and is composed of many yellow tubes. There are several rows of tongue-shaped petals around. These varieties include: varieties for bouquets Sonnenshine and Margarita, casing varieties - Edelweiss, Apollo and others.

Semi-double asters include more lush inflorescences, which have many rows of petals, but the middle is clearly visible. These varieties include the varieties Anemonovidnaya and Madeleine - cut flowers. Rosette and Victoria Baum - casing flowers.

If the middle of the aster is very difficult to see, and the flowers themselves are lush, in the form of pompons, then these are Coronal asters. These include varieties such as Princess, Fantasy, and others. Casing varieties are Pomponnaya, and others.

Universal variety - Bouquet Princess.

Reed varieties of asters

This culture is characterized by very lush flowers resembling a ball, among which it is impossible to make out the yellow tubular middle.

Here, curly asters, ray, needle cultures are distinguished.

Curly asters have beautiful lush inflorescences, the petals of which curl from the edge. The varieties from which the bouquets are made: Queen of the Market, Hohenzollern and others. The universal varieties include: Early miracle, Chrysanthemum and Comet.

Beam asters include flowers that have narrow long petals that can curl. These are Radio, Unicum and Corallen.

Riviera, Valkyrie - these varieties of asters are referred to as ray ones. Their petals look like thin needles, as they are twisted along their entire length.

Speaking about perennial asters, Alpine aster, Italian aster, American aster, as well as New Belgian aster are popular.

The last two varieties are a bush with a fairly high stem, about a meter, and sometimes even one and a half meters in height. However, these bushes are not strong and can break or lose their appearance, falling apart in the middle of the flower garden. Plants begin to bloom towards the end of summer, but the flowering period can last until late autumn.

American aster, or as it is also called - New England - can grow more than one and a half meters in height. Its bushes are slender, beautiful and strong, reminiscent of a column. There is no need to tie up this bush. Semi-double flowers are distinguished by a variety of colors, usually yellow or orange.

The flower blooms in early autumn and can last until the first snow appears.

Conclusion

Asters - these are very beautiful flowers, having a huge variety of species and varieties, as well as completely undemanding to care for and unpretentious to the environment. All flowers need is an enriched, nutritious soil. And then the asters will answer you with lush and beautiful flowering.