Astra New England (36 photos): description of a herb for open ground. Planting and caring for American aster

2 ways to plant asters

Growing annual asters from seeds is possible in 2 ways: seedling and seedless

Germination lasts 2 years, so when buying seeds, you need to pay attention to the expiration date - by the end of the second year, germination decreases. Which method of planting asters to choose depends only on the timing of the flowering of a particular variety

The early varieties bloom after about 90 days after germination, the middle ones after 100, and the later ones after 120 days.

Seedling method

Growing asters from seedlings by about mid-summer allows you to get flowering plants. Sowing for aster seedlings is done in the last decade of March - early April, if you plan to plant it in open ground by mid-May.

Growing asters for seedlings consists of several stages.

First you need to prepare the soil, it must be nutritious, abundantly fertilized and breathable. You can take soil from a garden or vegetable garden, add sand, compost or humus (or peat). For disinfection, a solution of potassium permanganate is prepared - 1 g per 5 liters of water - and the soil is poured with a hot solution. Rinse boxes and pots for planting with the same solution. The drainage must be placed on the bottom so that the water can easily drain away.
The seeds are buried by 0.5-1 cm, water for irrigation needs warm water. The next watering is done only after the seeds have germinated. It is advisable to cover the seed boxes with foil to maintain temperature and humidity. After seed germination, the film is removed. Seedling care is to provide good lighting and not very high air temperature, about 18˚C.
When two full-fledged leaves appear, the seedlings need to be transplanted, preferably in separate pots. Although the aster is not too afraid of transplanting, the base of the stem of the seedlings is very delicate. It is advisable to water the seedlings abundantly, but rarely, avoiding excessive soil moisture, which contributes to the appearance of fungal diseases.
It is better to plant asters in open ground around mid-May, when the seedlings reach a height of 10-12 cm. It is better to plant the plants in the evening, the soil must first be watered and preferably mulched with grass or sawdust. Tall varieties are planted at a distance of about 30-40 cm so that the grown bushes do not interfere with each other. It is better to plant low species at a distance of about 20 cm, then adult plants form a continuous carpet during flowering.
A place for planting an aster should be chosen well-lit, dry, so that the water does not stagnate for a long time after watering. Growing asters in the place where tomatoes or potatoes grew is undesirable; pathogens of fungal plant diseases often remain in the soil after these crops. When planting, you need to try not to bend the roots and not cover the growth point with earth.

Sowing aster seeds in open ground (seedless method)

With a seedless planting option, asters are sown in 2 terms: in early spring or in autumn. For spring planting, sowing is carried out by the end of April - beginning of May, when the soil warms up enough. In autumn, asters are sown, when the ground is already freezing, in shallow grooves prepared in advance. Asters, planted in the fall, bloom 10-15 days later, but bloom longer and more abundantly.

For sowing asters in open ground, grooves with a depth of about 2 cm are prepared, it is advisable to water the prepared beds with a solution of potassium permanganate as well as the earth in containers prepared for seedlings.
Seeds are sown in prepared grooves, lightly sprinkled with earth, watered with rather warm water and covered with foil before sprouting during spring planting.Instead of a film, you can mulch the grooves with garden soil or humus - with a layer of about 1 cm. Before the seeds germinate, the beds are not watered.
Plants are thinned out after the formation of the third or fourth true leaf, leaving the required distance between shoots, depending on the variety. It is better not to pull out excess shoots, but carefully get them out of the ground - and you can plant them on other beds.

When sowing in the autumn, it is impossible to plant seeds in the ground, since the soil is already frozen. Therefore, the seeds are mulched with humus with a layer thickness of 3-4 cm or compost. In the spring, when the ground thaws, you need to loosen the aisles, leaving the mulch in place until sprouts appear.

Features and main advantages of the American aster

Each plant has a number of points that not only distinguish it, but also extol it among its relatives or nearby growing ornamental plants, so the following unique and typical features of the American aster should be known to everyone who would like to get this unusual type of aster on their site.

Impressively huge in size. The flowering bush of the American aster is able to cover many annuals and perennials growing in a flower bed. Three-meter living fences made of asters, specially planted near the hedge, are decorated with a large number of flowering buds and resemble a cascading multicolored waterfall - this is what you can look at forever, because you cannot find such a living and flowering hedge.

Various colors of inflorescences. On one adult bush of the American aster, you can observe multi-colored small baskets collected in shields and clusters of complex inflorescences. The delicate and pure beauty of shades from dark purple to bright white is simply enchanting. It is such a picture that is a true decoration, which can be used not only as a decor, but also easily become an element of landscape design.

An unusual form of inflorescences for asters. Pink, lilac, lilac, cherry, red and white flower buds with reed petals, yellow or red-brown, tubular centers, are located on branching shoots in multi-colored clusters, collected in several paniculate inflorescences

A wide range and riot of colors not only attracts attention, but also provokes the creation of original bouquet compositions.

Long flowering period of buds. The first flowers on a bushy perennial appear in early June or August, depending on the variety and region of cultivation, and the rapid flowering continues until November - this is precisely the main trump card of the plant, because all summer you can enjoy the gorgeous flower bed that adorns American aster in different shades in combination with a variety of "neighbors".

Late flowering The American aster plant is characterized by late flowering. When many flowering specimens have shed their foliage and dried buds, American aster not only continues to bloom, but also releases new buds until the onset of the first frost

At the end of October, on a perennial bush, you can count up to 40 opened inflorescences.

Frost resistance is the strong point of the plant. Adult American aster bushes are completely fearless of temperature fluctuations. With a morning frost of 5 degrees, the plant feels great. It is this factor that allows you to maintain high-quality flowering until mid-autumn.

It does not tolerate thickening of plantings. American aster is a plant of impressive size, and develops well, builds up green mass and blooms in spacious flower beds, where there is no excess vegetation, but a lot of space, light and heat. Before and during flowering, planting must be thinned out by cutting off weak branches and removing too thickened areas. Tightness in the garden is the first reason for the poor development and flowering of bush asters.

Basic breeding methods

There are three ways to multiply and increase the plantings of the American aster, which will help to successfully expand the beauty's possession.

Division of the bush. If it is necessary to increase the number of plantings of American asters, the root system is divided. Such an operation can be performed by digging up the entire aster bush, clearing it of lesions and dry inclusions, cut with a sharp shovel, separating the young roots with 5-6 branches sprouted on them. Or you can not remove the mother bush from the ground at all, but with the help of the same shovel, cut off part of the root and dig up the cut off bush with young branches, practically without injuring the main root mass of the perennial.
Cuttings. The tops of lignified and green branches are excellent cuttings, rooting in a jar under a hood or in a greenhouse, you can get an independent plant.
Seed reproduction. After flowering, American asters also form seeds that can propagate a favorite perennial. Seeds are sown in garden cups, germinated until the first true leaves appear, dive and germinate again. At the end of spring, ready-made seedlings from garden glasses, hardened and well-developed, are planted in a permanent place of growth.

Description of American asters

The selection of a number of species among asters into a separate mixed group of summer-autumn flowering is not accidental. There was a lot of confusion caused with the exact distribution of asters either to summer species or to autumn stars. Indeed, many summer asters bloom so late or bloom for so long that they also capture the beginning of autumn, in fact, mixing the two groups with each other.

Yes, and the selection of two subgroups within the summer-autumn asters is easy to explain and undeniable: the favorite and popular Euro-Asian species and the much rarer North American species differ significantly not only in flowering.

Changes in the classification of asters of the group of North American species affected the most. Almost all American plants, as part of the vast community of plant species in the Asteraceae family, have been transferred from the genus Aster to the genus Symphyotrichum. The change in the official botanical name has little effect on the practical nuances of using and growing these types of asters, but it fully corresponds to their status as special plants.

American asters, North American asters, or Symphiotrichums are flowering varieties of herbaceous perennials and dwarf shrubs. Symfiotrichum got its name from the Greek concepts of "merge" and "hair". These asters are not called American by accident: in nature they are found only on the American continents (with rare exceptions), almost always their distribution area is limited to North America.

Symphiotrichum are herbaceous perennials with strong, straight, branching shoots that form broad and very resistant bushes. The average plant height ranges from 70 cm to more than 1 m. As a rule, North American asters have alternate, lanceolate, saturated-colored leaves.

Most American asters are small-colored, with a diameter of baskets from 1 to 3 cm, although the best varietal asters delight with much more catchy inflorescences. But on the other hand, dozens of their baskets are collected in shields and brushes of complex inflorescences. The palette of colors with delicate, pure shades of lilac-lilac-white tones is inimitable.

The flowering period of American asters begins in June and ends only with the arrival of winter. Many of the most valuable species only bloom from September.

Symphiotrichum New England, or New England Astra (American Astra, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). mahler9Symphiotrichum virginian, or Virginian aster (New Belgian aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii). Renato Aldo Ferri

General characteristics

China is considered to be the homeland of these flowers.In Europe, they began to be cultivated in the VIII century, when the planting material was brought in for subsequent distribution. After the plant began to grow everywhere, the botanist K. Linnaeus gave the flower the name - aster, which is still used today. The culture has a long history, was in demand not only due to its high decorative appeal, but also acted as a talisman and a symbol of beauty.

The plant develops in the form of a bush with simple leaves, its height can vary from 10 to 150 centimeters. Aster inflorescences are multi-colored baskets consisting of petals of different sizes, their shape is elongated, reminiscent of a tongue. In the center, the petals will be short, in contrast to those located at the edges, in the predominantly yellow color. As for the extreme petals, their color palette is distinguished by a great variety, so in the garden you can find aster bushes of red, pink, purple, crimson and even green. The vast majority of varieties are represented in the garden by terry inflorescences.

Herbaceous plants for open ground are notable for their well-developed root system, which, while developing, can go 20-30 centimeters deep into the soil. In addition to the impressive size of the roots, asters are notable for the resistance of root branches to mechanical damage, as well as the ability to recover extremely quickly. This nuance eliminates the risk of crop death due to careless transplantation or other manipulations with the plant.

The stem of the flowers is erect, strong. There is a thick green pile on it. As a rule, its height varies between 50-80 centimeters. But today, gardeners and florists grow species and varieties in which the stem height can be 15 or 30 centimeters.

The leaves of the culture are arranged in a certain alternation in size. The stems will be smaller and elongated, with the lower green mass looking slightly different as it resembles a scapula with jagged edges.

Description of the plant

The plant is a native of China, where its name Callistephus is Chinese, and the meaning of the name from Greek is translated as "star". And not in vain, because the appearance of the inflorescence with its rays, quite logically, resembles a radiant star.

The diversity of the family is full of more than 600 species of perennial and annual plants with simple leaves, with a riot of different colors and with different sizes of buds and the splendor of the bush, so photos of flowers cannot be found the same, they always differ from each other.

Cultivars and species differ in stem height and bud color. Tall, ideal for cutting for a bouquet, and undersized are lush bushes that are densely covered with small buds, which is a real decoration of a flower bed, garden or balcony.

There are as many features as there are species. The fact that they are autumn flowers is a deep delusion of mankind, varieties have long been identified that delight with their flowering from the beginning of spring to the first frost.

Secrets and features of growing American asters on the site

American aster is a truly incredible beauty decoration of any flower bed, therefore, you should create optimal conditions for its cultivation, so that the plant will "thank you" with exuberant flowering.

Soil requirements. Fertile, loose, humus-equipped soils in the garden area contribute to the quality development of the plant. If the garden land is poor in nutrition, then the introduction of organic matter or two-year compost is simply necessary, otherwise the plant will survive, but the flowering will be weak and not bright.
The quality of lighting. Plants are practically not capricious, they grow well and give violent flowering in any corner of the garden. But, nevertheless, they prefer beds well-lit by the sun's rays.They develop well and build up green mass, give new shoots in sometimes shaded areas. But the love of sunshine and light characterizes American asters.
Rules for watering and moisture. Perhaps, the American aster is the only perennial bushy plant that tolerates drought well. Branches, foliage and flowering buds are filled with water during watering, and for a long time they nourish the root system with moisture. Watering is carried out no more than once a week, after the top layer of the soil at the roots of the plant has completely dried out. In no case should water stagnation be allowed, abundant watering and stagnant moisture can destroy an adult plant. Remember, cold running water is the enemy of blooming asters.
The introduction of organic matter under the bush of the American aster is permissible in early spring, during the growth of green mass and subject to the need to enrich the poor soil. If the chernozems on the site are fertile, then organic substances are not needed. But the minerals are simply necessary for the plant. The frequency of application of mineral fertilizers ranges from 4-5 procedures during the summer period. Phosphorus-potassium substances are necessary for the plant at the budding stage and during the flowering period. Phosphorus and potassium will help the perennial grow blooming buds.
Loosening is a mandatory procedure. Abundantly flowering perennial plants require timely loosening of the soil. High-quality weeding will not only get rid of weeds, but also improve the air permeability of the soil, allow the roots to breathe and grow, and prevent the formation of a soil crust, which blocks the access of oxygen to the roots.
Secrets of Correct Pruning To create bouquets, flowering branches with bright clusters of buds are cut at any time. But when preparing a plant for high-quality wintering, it is necessary to remove all shoots at the root, leaving only small hemp. Pruning is best done in autumn, but you can leave the bush with branches until spring, and with the onset of warm days and the awakening of the plant, remove last year's shoots at the root.

High-quality rehabilitation after a stroke

Care after a stroke becomes a difficult period in the life of both the patient and his relatives. Stroke limits a person's independence and caring for the elderly becomes even more difficult, since they need 24-hour attention and help. After this disease, the quality of life decreases, the functioning of the body is limited, which often leads to the loss of legal capacity.

Proper care after a stroke can protect the patient from complications. Only proper care can make recovery complete and quick

Particular attention should be paid to the following recommendations:

prevention of bedsores;
prevention of pneumonia and congestion;
restoration of motor functions;
combating blockage of blood vessels;
control of food intake and digestion processes;
in case of violation of the swallowing reflex, assistance in feeding;
restoration of speech;
the fight against psychoemotional disorders;
prevention of recurrent cases of stroke.

Remember that rehabilitation of the elderly after a stroke is a difficult job that will require not only knowledge, but also patience. It is recommended to be performed only by real specialists who work in our boarding house. This daunting task must be done by professionals.

Stroke is one of the most common diseases for people of any age, but people of the elderly and old age are most susceptible to it. According to the World Health Organization, mortality from stroke is in the top ten leading causes of death in people and even outstrips cancer in terms of the number of deaths.

In Russia, about half a million people suffer strokes every year. More than 400 thousand of them are people over 60 years old.Elderly people suffer from a stroke due to the weakening of the body and the disruption of the normal process of blood circulation.

The danger of a stroke, in addition to lethal outcome, lies in the disruption in the human body of functions that are important for it. People who have survived a stroke often become disabled, there is a complete or partial immobilization of the limbs, pathological disorders of the brain are possible, which leads to diseases such as senile dementia.

Since the formation of a stroke is associated with circulatory disorders in the brain, the consequences for elderly patients who have suffered such an ailment can be very diverse, but mostly pessimistic. According to statistics, after the first stroke, about a third of elderly patients die in Russia.

However, in addition to wanting a complete recovery from a stroke, an elderly person also needs comfortable conditions for the body to recover. During the period of rehabilitation after a stroke, an elderly person and his relatives face a choice, which will determine the entire subsequent life of an elderly patient and his state of health.

The result of a stroke for an elderly person often becomes complete or partial immobilization of the limbs. Such consequences, according to statistics, lie in wait for at least half of elderly patients who have had a stroke. State medical institutions do not pay enough attention to bedridden patients; as a rule, their treatment is carried out according to the same standards as patients who have not been immobilized as a result of a stroke.

All of the above and the extremely necessary standards for the successful rehabilitation of an elderly person who have suffered a stroke cannot be provided by state social and medical institutions for the care of the elderly. The reason for this is insufficient funding from the state, the lack of qualified highly motivated personnel and the lack of equipment and devices necessary for high-quality rehabilitation of an elderly person.

In such institutions, an elderly person will not only be able to restore their physical and psychological skills after suffering a stroke or other illness. Due to circumstances, or of their own free will, elderly people can live in such houses on a permanent basis or for a long time.

It is important to remember that health is the most valuable thing a person has.