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Aster "Aleksandria" (mix)
China Aster "Alexandria" (mixture of colors) - Callistephus chinensis.
Asters are extraordinarily beautiful in bouquets. Lush or elegant, light inflorescences on long, strong stems are magnificent in large bouquets. Small-flowered varieties make lovely boutonnieres and bouquets. Cut aster flowers stay fresh in water in bouquets for up to 14 days. Just remember to wash the stems and change the water in the vases to fresh water.
Aster is the queen of the autumn flower garden. Special dwarf varieties have been created to decorate flower beds and borders. Low-growing varieties (varietal types of Dwarf Royal Asters, Triumph, the Miledi garden group, etc.) are also beautiful in large groups on a green lawn.
In the not-so-distant past, asters were planted on city flower beds and borders after the biennials that had faded and lost their decorative effect — forget-me-nots or daisies. You can also use aster to replace faded early spring bulbs. Planted next to each other, they will cover the bulbs that fall asleep in the summer and protect them from overheating in the hot summer, and also save them from weeds. You can plant aster in flower gardens at any time. The roots of the aster are very branched and easily restored if they are slightly torn during transplantation. Therefore, you can even transplant adult plants, with buds or already blooming, grown in a «reserve».
Asters are extraordinarily beautiful in bouquets. Lush or elegant, light inflorescences on long, strong stems are magnificent in large bouquets. Small-flowered varieties make lovely boutonnieres and bouquets. Cut aster flowers stay fresh in water in bouquets for up to 14 days. Just remember to wash the stems and change the water in the vases to fresh water.
Aster is the queen of the autumn flower garden. Special dwarf varieties have been created to decorate flower beds and borders. Low-growing varieties (varietal types of Dwarf Royal Asters, Triumph, the Miledi garden group, etc.) are also beautiful in large groups on a green lawn.
In the not-so-distant past, asters were planted on city flower beds and borders after the biennials that had faded and lost their decorative effect — forget-me-nots or daisies. You can also use aster to replace faded early spring bulbs. Planted next to each other, they will cover the bulbs that fall asleep in the summer and protect them from overheating in the hot summer, and also save them from weeds. You can plant aster in flower gardens at any time. The roots of the aster are very branched and easily restored if they are slightly torn during transplantation. Therefore, you can even transplant adult plants, with buds or already blooming, grown in a «reserve».
Propagation: by seeds. Seeds retain germination for 2-3 years. Sowing can be carried out both in open ground (in autumn and spring) and in protected ground (within a month, starting from mid-March).
For seedlings, medium-late and late-flowering plants are sown in a warm room in boxes (second half of March). The soil is prepared in advance; it should be nutritious, breathable, and retain moisture well. There are possible options here, for example: sod land, river sand, humus (3:1:0.5); sod land, humus, sand (2-3:1:0.5); sod land, peat, sand (1:2:2). Sand must be washed and calcined in the oven at a temperature of +80 °C. Before sowing, the soil in the box is spilled with a hot solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per 10 l). These measures will protect plants from the disease "black leg".
The sowing rate is 3 g of seeds per standard box. The seeds are sprinkled with dry, finely sifted humus (a layer 0.5 cm thick) and watered. The crops are covered with polyethylene film, and the temperature in the room is maintained at +18+20 °C until seedlings appear. The next time they are watered is after the seedlings appear (seeds germinate on the 3-10th day). In order for the seedlings to grow and develop normally, the temperature should not be lower than +15 °C.
Seedlings are planted in open ground in late May - early June. The soil under the asters should be fertile and moisture-permeable, as the plants do not tolerate stagnant water. Before planting, add humus, wood ash, compost, but in no case fresh manure.
When planting seedlings, you need to ensure that the roots do not bend and the growth point is not covered. Tall varieties with a wide bush are planted at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, medium-sized varieties - 20-25 cm, dwarf varieties - 10-15 cm.
When planting, the plants must be "squeezed", and the raw earth around them should be sprinkled with dry earth. Further care is usual - timely watering, weeding and loosening.
Early and mid-flowering plants are sown in early April in the soil of a film-heated greenhouse or in greenhouses. The soil is prepared 1-2 weeks before sowing: humus is added and dug up, leveled with rakes, beds 1 m wide are made, and then spilled with a hot 0.2% solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 m2. After that, they are covered with polyethylene film, which helps to preserve heat and moisture, and also provokes the germination of weed seeds. To get rid of their seedlings, the land is dug up or loosened with rakes after 3-6 days.
If there are many weed seeds in the soil, then the procedure is repeated again - this technique allows you to grow seedlings practically without weeding. If weeds do appear, they are selected when thinning aster crops. The prepared soil on the day of sowing is loosened again, slightly compacted and marked (5 x 5 cm or 6x6 cm). After sowing, the seeds are sprinkled with earth or finely sifted humus, watered with water at room temperature and covered with polyethylene film, which is not removed until seedlings appear.
In the future, seedlings are watered with warm water to avoid the appearance of root rot. The temperature in the greenhouse should be about +18+20 °C, air humidity 70-80%, Seedlings are planted in prepared soil.
The culture is cold-resistant, tolerates frosts down to -3...-4 °C well. Plants obtained from seeds during winter sowing in open ground begin to bloom 10-14 days later than plants grown with seedlings, and with spring sowing (April) — 14-17 days later, however, their flowering is more abundant and longer.
Usage: depending on the height of the stem and the decorative effect of the inflorescences, asters are suitable for flower beds, group plantings and borders in the garden or for decorating balconies and terraces.
Asters are also beautiful on balconies and loggias, they can be kept in pots in cool rooms and winter gardens. For this purpose, breeders have also created special varieties, two charming garden groups: "Petito" and "Pinocchio".
In the collection of annual aster there are varieties suitable for growing in greenhouses. They bloom with a certain growing technology at times that are not traditional for aster: in early spring or late autumn — in November.
