Astra perennial ground cover planting and care photo

Tips for planting, propagating and caring for flowers

The first of these options involves rooting the cuttings in a greenhouse with a constant high humidity. For this method, the tops of the shoots are cut off with a length of about five to seven centimeters in early summer. Cuttings obtained from young trunks root very quickly and grow, forming powerful bushes.

Reproduction by dividing the bush is an easy method that allows you to get a flowering plant very quickly. In one place the perennial aster Mix and other species can grow up to five to six years. However, with a strong growth of the bushes, gardeners prefer to transplant them, dividing them into smaller bushes. This is best done every two to three years. Tall plants should be planted no closer than 70-90 cm apart. Small specimens will feel comfortable at a distance of 30-50 centimeters.

For reproduction by the method of division, delenki are cut off from the mother bush. A sharp knife should be used for this procedure. Each division should have three to five strong shoots. It is best to divide and plant the aster in the spring. In this case, the plant will grow much faster and enter the flowering stage. Plants planted in the fall are at risk of freezing and dying before they even take root.

Winter sowing of asters is also possible. It is carried out in December. It is advised to propagate the plant in this way if the height of the snow cover is not more than ten centimeters. After planting the seeds, cover the ground with dry compost. Sometimes the seedlings are very weak from this method of planting and do not look like good varietal material. Due to the loss of germination, the seed propagation method of this type of flowers is rarely used.

Watering and feeding asters

The best choice would be fertilizer in the form of special dressings, including the whole complex of minerals, as well as phosphorus-potassium mixtures.

Wintering aster bushes

In the autumn, after frosts have appeared, the shoots are cut at ground level. Experts advise mulching the soil with compost. The autumn aster plant is quite frost-resistant, therefore, it does not need to be covered for the winter.

Choosing a place for culture

Many people like the cultivation of perennial asters, because these bushes are able to delight with bright colors until late autumn.

Choosing the right soil

Poor soil should be fertilized using humus or compost, a few tablespoons of superphosphate. To reduce acidity, it is advised to use dolomite flour or fluff lime in an amount of 200 grams. After that, everything should be dug as deep as possible. For growing such a species as the Wartburg star aster, an understated area with stagnant water is completely unsuitable. In this case, additional drainage is recommended. Fine gravel is well suited for this. Coarse sand, as well as river sand, can be added to the soil where asters are going to be planted. It improves the structure of the earth. Before planting, the site must be rid of weeds, loosen the ground and level it.

The soil on which calendula or marigolds previously grew is very suitable for planting asters. Do not plant this plant in flower beds where tulips, carnations or gladioli were previously grown. Since they often suffer from furasiosis, which causes fungal infections.

Caring for spray asters

When caring for this ornamental shrub, it is important to remove old and weak plants. They are more susceptible to infection with a variety of infections.

Periodically, preventive measures should be taken to combat parasites and diseases.To stimulate the growth of an ornamental bush, the soil is not only sometimes fertilized, but also weeded and loosened. Read the article: Shrub chrysanthemum: the best varieties for planting.

Features of the heather aster

Abundantly flowering inflorescences tend to the ground, which creates dense bushes. They are characterized by an oval-pyramidal shape. Gardeners have the opportunity to develop unusual compositions. A variety of baskets, flowers create a kind of carpet. This culture is the best in the development of landscape design in the garden, park.

The ground cover aster is characterized by abundant long flowering. Aster heather can withstand temperatures as low as -35 degrees. Heather aster is common in Europe and America. There it is planted in almost every garden plot.

What are the varieties of this type

This culture is distinguished by a variety of varieties. She is also called a long-liver in a flower bed, when other flowers are already fading, and she continues to delight the eye with her flowering. Gerbstmirte is a gorgeous hybrid, over one meter high. The flowers are characterized by a white-lilac shade, paniculate inflorescences. The size across is 10-12 mm. The flowers are yellow in the middle. They bloom in early September, delighting with flowering for a month and a half.

Erlkenig this variety gives off a delicate lilac color of the petals. The middle of the flower is a bright yellow shade. The bush is characterized by branching, the height is no more than ten centimeters. Abundant flowering occurs in the last days of September to November.

The blue star is an unusual creeping heather aster. The bush reaches seventy centimeters in height. Since the foliage is small, needle-like, and the twigs are squat, the heather aster resembles a stunted conifer. Flowering lasts from the beginning of August until the first frost, long and abundant.

Lady in Black has an unusual decorative effect due to almost black foliage, pinkish-brownish center and white tips of the petals. Many gardeners prefer this groundcover perennial for landscaping.

Astra heather snow town (Snow flurry) is a delightful ground cover that looks great in rock crevices, alpine slides. The abundant green carpet reaches only 10 cm and grows rapidly. When flowering begins, the tiny white flowers resemble an avalanche. Hanging pots are well suited for growing ampelous crops.

The pink cloud grows in the form of globular bushes. Delicate pink inflorescences are collected in numerous baskets. The variety is quite decorative, its charming appearance is preserved throughout the entire flowering.

Many landscape design lovers are attracted by the Golden Spray variety, which is a pyramidal bush in shape. The flowers are small, snow-white, and the middle is deep yellow. It is rather large against the background of small flowers.

There are undersized and tall varieties. The latter includes the popular variety Royal Ruby, whose height reaches 1 m. The bush is quite vigorous. Paniculate inflorescences have up to 200 baskets. Flowering continues for two months.

Reproduction methods

There are several ways to get a new blooming culture.

Seed method

Planting material can be purchased at the store or collected in the fall after it has ripened. It is recommended to plan planting work in the spring.

It is important that the air temperature at this time has already warmed up to +20, which in different climatic conditions occurs in different months. Also, seeds can be germinated at home, creating small greenhouses on the windowsill or elsewhere.

For all options, the single requirement is to deepen the collected or acquired material into the ground by no more than 1 centimeter.As a soil mixture for home germination, it is recommended to use garden soil disinfected with manganese solution, or a universal store composition.

In the garden or indoors, the seedlings are covered with glass or transparent polyethylene

It is important to regularly ventilate the greenhouse, moisten the seeds with water at room temperature. As a rule, shoots of young asters will appear after a week and a half.

During this period, the covering material must be removed to provide the plants with good illumination. You can dive aster when the first full leaves appear. When growing at home, transplanting crops into open ground is carried out after the young plants are sufficiently strong.

Cuttings

This method allows you to collect material from the selected mother bush for planting in any summer month. The most suitable material for planting will be cuttings selected from the top of the culture. The optimal length of the cutting will be 7-9 centimeters; they are cut in cloudy weather. This must be done with a disinfected instrument.

The collected material is planted in any small container filled with sand and peat. At home, cuttings are germinated at some distance from the light. In the open field, it will be possible to get a new aster by rooting cuttings in the ground, with additional shelter in the form of a transparent material. You can use plastic containers. As a rule, after a month, the plant will already take root well in a new place.

Division of the mother plant

Similar work is carried out in the spring. The process of obtaining a new plant involves the separation of a part of the bush, which will contain from 3 to 5 shoots with a root system and buds. The resulting part is rooted in a hole in the garden, regularly moistening the soil.

Garden aster care

Asters are unpretentious, so leaving will not take a lot of time and effort from the grower.

Watering and loosening

Water the plants abundantly, but not too often. In dry summers, water consumption per 1 m2 is 3 buckets. After each moistening, the soil will lie down loosening to a depth of 4-6 cm.

Weeding and hilling

To accelerate the growth of the root mass before the start of branching of the aster stems, it is recommended to spud to a height of 8 cm. An important care measure is the cleaning of the soil from weeds.

Top dressing

• 10 days after planting seedlings in open ground, fertilizing is carried out using complex mineral fertilizers, which include nitrogen.
• In the budding phase, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are applied under the plants.
• At the beginning of flowering, asters are fed for the third time also with fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus.

Asters have faded - what to do?

If annual varieties grew on the site, then all plant residues should be removed and burned, having previously collected the seeds from the varieties you like. Sowing material can be sown before winter, but in a different area that is not infected with specialized harmful organisms. Perennial representatives of the culture are winter-hardy and can grow in one place for up to 5 years. When the age limit after flowering is reached, it is worth digging up the bushes and dividing them. Place the delenki in other areas.

A delicate and graceful flower, if cultivation is violated, can be affected by both diseases and pests. Among the diseases, the greatest danger is fusarium, which does not respond to treatment, as well as rust, powdery mildew and black leg, which develops in the seedling phase. Of the pests on asters, there are meadow bugs, slobbering pennits, plowed slugs, common earwigs, spider mites, kidney aphids and scoops, which should be fought with systemic insecticides.

Varieties of perennial asters

There are just an incredible number of varieties of perennial asters. All of them are divided into several types and by the ripening period.

1. Alpine aster.

This is an early plant that gives its first flowers as early as May.The varieties of this species grow up to 40 cm in height and are very similar to a simple chamomile. Their bloom lasts about a month. Flowers up to 6 cm in diameter, very beautiful - 1-2 pieces per stem. They can endure cold weather without any problems, and even frost. What are the most famous varieties of this species?

Photo of an alpine aster

• "Rosea" stands out for its long flowering. It blooms for up to 3 months, the first buds are released in June. The flowers are light pink, the core is brownish.

• "Alba" grows as a dense bush up to 40 cm. It gives a lot of leaves. Flowers are white, semi-double type, 3 cm in diameter.

• "Glory" produces flowers with sky-blue petals and a yellow center, up to 4 cm in diameter.

Important!
Some varieties of perennial asters can only be bred with a certain type of breeding. So this point needs to be clarified before purchasing a seedling or seeds.

1. New Belgian perennial asters.

A shrub plant with an abundance of pagons, and some branches may be completely leafless. The flowers are usually simple, but some have the petals curved inward, which creates a double effect. These plants grow up to 0.5 m. Many flowers grow on the stem. The main color is lilac, lilac, but there may be variations.

Photo of the new Belgian perennial aster

• "Saturn" grow up to 0.5 cm in a spreading bush. Inflorescences up to 4 cm in diameter with blue petals. Flowering lasts a month.

• Ballard is most often used in bouquets and flower arrangements. Lush bloom with bright pink, small flowers.

• "Amethyst" grows just over 1 meter, if not cut off. The petals are dark purple, and the middle is yellow. Each stem can have up to 6 flowers.

Interesting!
Among perennial asters, there are different types, including dwarf ones, which can be grown in pots!

1. New England aster.

These plants have strong, well-developed bushes with straight stems. Their shoots are thick, stiff up to 1.5 meters in height. Inflorescences are predominantly at the top of the bush. These are autumn varieties that bloom quite late.

Photo new english aster

• Rote Stern grows up to 1.5 meters. The flowers are more like double flowers. Carmine color. Blooms in autumn for about a month.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• "Dr. Eckener" has red-purple buds with a diameter of 4 cm. This shrub can grow up to 1.5 meters. Blooms in autumn for a month.

• "Lily Fardell" grows a little less than 1.5 meters. Produces beautiful pink flowers, which are collected in inflorescences on pagons. Recommended for arranging bouquets.

Important!
Once every 5 years, it is recommended to plant New England aster bushes so that they have how to develop.

1. Shrub species.

Shrub perennial asters can have a wide variety of flower colors. They are usually compact, need pruning and rejuvenate once every 3 years.

Photo aster shrubby 'Schneekissen', white

• "Dwarf Nancy" grows up to 25 cm. Flowers are lilac, with reed petals.

• "Venus" is a dwarf species up to 20 cm in height. Blooms from September for a whole month. Purple buds.

• "Niobea" produces flowers with snow-white petals and a yellow heart. Grows in a bush 30 cm high.

How to grow a stunted aster

Aster grows well in sunny areas, but is able to withstand light shade. Low-growing varieties of asters can be planted in whole groups, made borders from bushes. Bright bushes of autumn asters can be a soloist in a flower bed. Low-growing varieties of asters can be used to frame garden paths. Planting these plants is very easy.

Site selection

In order for your asters to bloom magnificently in the fall and grow well for several years without transplants, you should choose the right site for them. The best place to plant perennial asters is in a sunny area. The more the bushes receive sunlight, the more abundant and luxuriant they will bloom. Aster, of course, loves watering in dry weather, but at the same time it does not tolerate stagnant water at all. Therefore, a site for it must be selected without the occurrence of groundwater and not in a lowland.Ideally, if the selected place is on a small hill, so that water does not accumulate at the roots of the bushes.

On the northern side of the site, this plant will not bloom profusely - aster loves warmth and sun.

Landing

The best period for planting, transplanting and breeding perennial asters is spring. Experienced flower growers, in order not to infect their area with viral diseases of garden plants, prefer to buy planting material in nurseries or in specialized stores. You can also grow aster from seeds or by cuttings, dividing a bush, if you already have such plants.

Seed method of breeding asters

The seed method of growing perennial asters is suitable only for the Alpine aster variety. The fact is that perennial aster seedlings take root very poorly and grow weakened. Seeds are sown in the fall, almost immediately after they are harvested. But you can sow seeds in spring, when the air and soil warm up enough. As soon as it gets warm, the seeds will begin to germinate, and in the fall, young plants can be planted in a permanent place in the garden. In one place, a flower can grow without transplants for up to 5 years.

Growing perennial asters from cuttings

A very common planting of this perennial crop is cuttings. It is necessary to start cuttings in early spring, at the moment when young shoots begin to appear. Shoots 15 cm long are cut on cuttings, the lower cut should be at an angle. The lower leaves are cut off from the cuttings, leaving only two leaves at the top of the shoot. Before planting, many experienced growers keep the cuttings in a growth stimulator or just in water. The harvested cuttings are planted at the corners in a shaded area under a film cover. Usually cuttings take root in a month. You can plant cuttings in greenhouses or in boxes under the film. The boxes are filled with a mixture of turf, peat and sand, taken in equal parts. It is advisable to shed the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate before planting in order to exclude the appearance of diseases in young plants. After rooting, the cuttings are left to grow in the same place, and only in the spring of the next year they are planted in a permanent place in the garden. Caring for cuttings consists of regular watering and weeding. Planting a shrub aster is no different from planting other perennials - a hole is dug, spilled with water, the plant is lowered into the hole and covered with earth.

Dividing the bush

If your perennial aster bushes have grown strongly, then you can divide them into several young plants. Usually, an aster bush grows in the same place without transplanting for up to 5 years. But after 5 years, the plant must be planted. When dividing the mother bush, it is dug up and the roots are freed from the ground. Then, with a sharp tool, the rhizome is divided into several parts, making sure that several shoots remain on each division. The old root must be thrown away.

The bushes are divided in early autumn or spring. For early varieties of asters, an autumn transplant is preferable, and for late varieties, a spring one.

Features of growing a plant

Aster heather does not belong to capricious crops, it is unpretentious in care and can grow in almost any conditions. However, there are requirements that it is desirable to fulfill in order for the plant to fully develop and please the eye:

Asters like to grow in open sunny areas or where there is a slight partial shade.
In order for the heather aster to bloom profusely and develop well, it is necessary to create conditions that are as similar as possible to natural ones.
You can not plant a flower in highly shaded areas. In this case, the plant will be painful, and parasites will begin to attack it.
Almost any type of soil is suitable for growing a wild plant variety, except for marshy, saline and heavy soil.

If cultivated aster heather is grown, planting and caring for it should be more careful.For this variety, you need to choose the right soil.

Ideally, it should be loamy, fertilized, moderately moist, it is equally important to ensure good drainage.

If the soil on the site does not contain trace elements necessary for normal growth, organic fertilizers must be applied before planting. This can be humus or compost.
When planting in spring, it is advisable to add nitrogen fertilizers (20 g) to the soil, this will accelerate the growth of the plant.
The most common way to reproduce flowers is by dividing

Planting the plant is best in the spring. Delenki quickly take root and begin to bloom by autumn. The disadvantage of planting in autumn is that not all seedlings have time to take root. The onset of early frosts can lead to the death of an immature plant.

These flowers do not require complex maintenance. Astra ground cover heather is picky, but still, in order for the plant to be healthy and beautiful, efforts should be made. Regular watering is important for her, but it needs to be carried out exclusively with settled warm water. Periodically, you need to apply mineral and organic fertilizers to the soil, they stimulate the growth of the plant. Weeding and loosening should be done as needed. Although aster heather is not very susceptible to diseases and various pests, prevention will not harm it.

It is important to remember that poor soil moisture and a lack of fertilizers lead to the fact that the leaves of the flower quickly turn yellow and wither. This reduces the frost-resistant and decorative properties of the plant.

Aster planting rules

Planting a plant must be carried out adhering to certain requirements. Gardeners advise planting in early May. The soil should be slightly damp. The interval between shoots should be fifteen, twenty centimeters. Three days after planting, it is required to water for the first time. After seven days, top dressing is done with mullein solution. It is better to carry out work in the evening. It is good to carry them out in cloudy weather. If the sun is shining, then the seedlings should be covered for a certain period before rooting.

Plant care recommendations

Professional gardeners explain that planting and caring for aster heather is a simple procedure. You should adhere to simple rules, which will ensure decorative and good flowering of plants. Watering should be regular but moderate. They take settled water. During the dry period, it is necessary to provide abundant watering, but it is better to stick to the golden mean, so as not to overdo it with watering. In this case, the ingress of water on the leaves of the heather aster should be excluded.

In order for the aster to please with abundant flowering, it must be fertilized at least three times per season. To do this, use full mineral or organic fertilizers. Good results are obtained by applying ash to the soil. This helps to lower the acidity of the soil and enrich it with potassium.

It is recommended to periodically loosen the trunks of the New England aster to provide the rhizomes with the necessary oxygen. But loosening should be superficial, to a depth of no more than six cm. This is due to the shallow root system. In conditions of insufficient air exchange and nutrients, disease is inevitable. They are able to provoke mushrooms.

Weeds and flowering inflorescences should be removed in a timely manner. Since the culture can withstand frosts, it is not covered for the winter, but only the aboveground part is cut off, leaving 20-30 cm above the ground. When the plant reaches a height of fifty, seventy-five centimeters, the support should be installed. It will provide support to the plant in the growing process. You can prevent diseases and stimulate abundant flowering by planting asters every 2-3 years. The best period will be April. If aster heather was not cut off for wintering, then dried shoots are removed in early spring.

Heather aster pests

Periodically, shrubs are required to be examined for timely detection of diseases. In dry weather, the culture is threatened by a spider mite, which will help to cope with acaricide or an infusion of onion peel. The danger is a nematode that causes the appearance of brown spots. Damaged leaves are removed manually. If this does not help, then the entire bush should be removed.

Powdery mildew in the form of a white coating can damage plantings. This is especially true in rainy weather. To combat this disease, synthetic fungicides are used, as well as products containing copper. The most effective drugs are Topaz, Skor, etc. For preventive measures, copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid is used.

Fusarium wilting can lead to the death of the bush. There are no effective drugs for it now. The plant is removed and then burned. The danger threatens plants on loamy acidic soil at high daytime temperatures. You can fight the meadow bug with the help of such means as Aktara, Decis. The insecticide needs to be changed periodically so as not to addictive pests.

Growing asters from seeds

Aster is grown from seeds in two ways: seedling and non-seedling.

Seedless planting of asters

Sowing of early varieties is carried out in early or mid-March, and later ones - in the second half of spring, when the weather is stable above 10 ° C.

Wherein:

1. Grooves are prepared with a depth of 4 cm.
2. Seeds are placed in the grooves and filled with water.
3. With the arrival of dry weather, crops are mulched.
4. After the formation of two pairs of true leaves in the seedlings, the rows are thinned out so that an interval of 15 cm remains between the seedlings.

In addition to spring time, asters are planted in the fall before winter:

1. On the frozen soil, grooves are made into which the seed is placed, which is practically not damaged by Fusarium.
2. After the snow melts in the spring and the emergence of seedlings, thinning is carried out.

Sowing asters for seedlings

The seedling method is more reliable, while asters grown through seedlings, the florist will be able to admire much earlier.

Sowing is carried out in the first half of spring as follows:

1. 7 days before sowing, the seed, wrapped in cloth, is soaked in a manganese solution for 10 hours.
2. After the allotted time, the fabric is wrung out and, together with the seeds, is placed in cellophane for germination.
3. The seedling boxes are filled with a light substrate, which is watered with a fungicidal solution for disinfection.
4. The seeds are planted to a depth of 5 mm.
5. The container is covered with glass, after which it is moved to a warm place.
6. When shoots appear, the seedlings are taken to a room with a temperature of 16 ° C.
7. After the seedlings have two pairs of true leaves, they are picked with shortening of the roots.

How to grow?

Heather aster does not require much maintenance. She is not capricious and unpretentious

And yet, in order for the plant to receive all the conditions for normal growth and development, it is necessary to pay attention to the following nuances:

Asters will feel good on the floor - in a dark or sunny area. In order for a plant to delight you with abundant flowering, the conditions for its location should be similar to natural ones. The flower should not be kept in very dark places, as harmful insects will attack it, and it will often hurt.

The wild aster variety can grow in any soil. An exception will be heavy, swampy and saline soil. To grow a cultivated flower - heather aster, more careful care is needed. And you need to start with the soil. The optimum will be loamy and fertilized soil, which will need to be fertilized. You should also take care of good drainage.If there are no trace elements in the soil in the selected area, you should first fertilize the soil with organic fertilizers, consisting of compost or humus, before planting the aster. Planting flowers in spring requires the introduction of nitrogen into the soil, which is necessary to accelerate flower growth.

New England aster in landscape design

Gardeners are especially attracted by its ground cover properties. In addition to rock gardens, park areas, the plant looks under tall stands of conifers. This is possible due to the fact that the culture withstands a little partial shade. Placing the plant in the garden takes into account late flowering. Tall varieties are optimal for single plantings. They are planted in the background. They are excellent as a hedge. Aster heather is a favorite flower for the landscape.

The bushes do a good job of disguising not attractive enough buildings, fences. Small varieties look good in mixborders. They are combined with the planting of Korean chrysanthemums.

The planting of the crop takes place in the background of the bed. There are annual varieties in front. Their attractiveness is expressed in the openwork foliage. At the end of the flowering of annuals, a variety of aster colors replaces. It is better to choose undersized varieties for rabatki. Its excellent neighbors will be yarrow, rudbeckia. Representatives of this species are perfectly combined with solidago and liatrix, which have faded.

Cultivars with pink flowers look great with Japanese spirea of ​​the same color. But still, single plantings are good when the bushes acquire conical or lush rounded shapes. Florists are also attracted by its undemanding care. She is the final accord in the autumn colors of a blooming garden. Decorative foliage is great for arranging bouquets. Cut flowers in a flowerpot last up to two weeks as a reminder of summer.

Heather aster is rarely seen in the gardens of our compatriots, but in America and Canada, this perennial creeping culture is very popular. Gardeners appreciate it for its decorative appearance, unpretentiousness and delicate aroma. The culture pleases its owners with abundant flowering from September to November.

Planting aster seeds

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Although there are many methods of breeding asters, more often they are still grown through seeds. This method is especially recommended for breeding alpine asters. Sow seeds for seedlings in March. If there is no desire to grow seedlings, you can immediately sow them in open ground. In the southern regions this is done in early April, in the middle regions by mid-April, and in the northern regions closer to May.

Photo of an aster: planting and care

Important!
If, after sowing the seeds, return frosts began, the land on the plantings is well mulched or covered with a film so that the seeds do not freeze.

Sowing perennial asters is best in loamy soil. Sandy soil, as well as heavy, clayey, is not suitable for them, because in the first case, there will always be a lack of water, and in the second, there will be too much of it. Rich asters bloom are given exclusively in sunny areas, while in the shade, more lush foliage is obtained. It is also worth mentioning that tall perennial asters are afraid of drafts.

As for the sowing method, there is nothing difficult here. Asters are sown in a sparse single file into the furrow to a depth of 3 cm. After sowing, it is necessary to make sure that the air temperature is about +15 degrees, then the seedlings will appear faster.