Perennial flowers planting rules

Application in landscape design photo

They can be used both in group compositions with other plants, and when planted in flower beds alone. They will look unusual next to dahlias or phlox. They are also excellently combined with peonies, carnations and other flowers, whose shapes are similar to asters.

Where is it better not to plant asters:

• Next to gorgeous roses or lilies that will simply outshine their delicate beauty.
• It is not recommended to plant in the place where tulips or other asters, potatoes or tomatoes used to grow. All of these plants can contribute to Fusarium infection.
• Do not plant under or near evergreen conifers, as green needles can infect nasty rust.

All wishes and precautions should be taken into account in order to grow high-quality and healthy specimens of perennial asters.

The most common species used for home garden design are stunted perennials. Alpine aster occupies a leading place, since the unforgettable autumnal lush flowering of this species does not allow you to take your eyes off the plant and allows you to compare it with the flowering of incomparable chrysanthemums.

Asters are flowers that begin to bloom in the fall and are the last to wither with the onset of winter. If you want to fill your garden with gorgeous flowers that can delight you even with the onset of slight cold weather, then asters are best suited for this.

Astrantia after flowering

Seed collection

If you are planning to collect seeds from Astrantia, then during flowering, outline the most spectacular and large inflorescences. When they begin to dry out, they should be covered with gauze bags, which will prevent the ripe seeds from spilling out onto the surface of the site. Completely dried seeds must be trimmed and placed for final drying in a well-ventilated dry room, spreading them out on a newspaper sheet. After they are completely dry, you will need to extract seeds from them, from which dried petals are removed. The seeds are placed in a small cardboard box or in a paper bag, which is removed in a dark and dry place.

How to prepare for wintering

Preparing Astrantia for wintering should be done in autumn. To do this, you need to cut off its stems almost to the level of the surface of the site. Then the bushes are mulched with peat or humus. For sheltering young bushes, it is recommended to use spruce branches. If Astrantia is already an adult, then it is quite capable of surviving the winter without shelter.

How to care for outdoor garden asters

If you dream of growing asters, then this will certainly not be difficult for you.

It should be borne in mind that the plant prefers to grow in places where strong cold winds will not disturb it.

Having prepared the right soil where your flower will grow, be sure that in the future it will be easy to care for it, even if you are a completely novice florist.

If you plan to grow an annual plant in your garden, then all you need is to remove weeds, loosen the ground and water it in a timely manner.

With proper care, you must remove dried leaves and inflorescences from the plant in time. This should be done not in the evening, but in the morning or before lunch, so that the plant tissues have time to tighten. This procedure will help the emergence of new buds, and also will not use up excess supply of nutrients.

Watering and feeding

In the event that the summer period is too hot, then mulch the soil so that the moisture in it lingers a little longer. Dry leaves, sawdust or pine needles are suitable for this procedure.

Do not forget to feed the asters, which will allow them to produce beautiful and lush inflorescences. To do this, you can use mineralized fertilizers, which are: superphosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate. Wood ash will be no less useful. Avoid nitrogen fertilizers, because thanks to them, the plant will actively grow foliage, while practically not releasing buds.

As a rule, fertilizers are applied both dry and after mixing them with water. For the first time, it is necessary to feed asters a few weeks after planting. As soon as buds begin to appear on the plant, this is an indicator that it is necessary to fertilize the plant a second time. The third time it is necessary to use feeding is at the moment when the buds have just blossomed.

Care of young asters

Asters do not tolerate drought. The main root mass is located no deeper than 15 cm, and plants cannot extract moisture from a great depth. Water them abundantly: the soil should be saturated with moisture, but not turn into a swamp. You can add a little potassium permanganate to make the liquid pale pink. It is better to water in the morning: if you accidentally overdo it and turn the flower bed into a rice field, the sun will dry out excess moisture during the day and the roots will not rot.

The first feeding should be done about 10 days after planting, when the main part of the plants has taken root in a new place and began to release new shoots. Use an infusion of ash, it will not only fertilize the soil, but also protect against some diseases, drive away pests and reduce the acidity of the soil. You can also apply complex fertilizer. During a drought period, fertilizing must be applied in a liquid form; in damp weather, fertilizers are embedded in the soil in a solid form.

Asters bloom magnificently only in loose soil. If you have taken care in advance and mulched the flower bed, there is no need for additional work, otherwise you will have to break the crust on the soil surface after each watering. A layer of mulch will also prevent overdrying of the soil, prevent weeds from growing. Aster roots are located close to the surface, so as not to damage them, loosen to a depth of no more than 5 cm. Make sure that pests do not attack the plantings. When you notice suspicious insects, immediately treat the flower bed with an insecticide.

How to take care of it properly?

The main care for asters comes down to timely watering and loosening the soil.

Watering

It is better to water the plants in the evening or early in the morning. During the day, when the sun's rays shine brightly, watering should not be carried out, since the water will quickly evaporate and the roots will lack moisture.

The condition of flowers is equally badly affected by excess and lack of moisture. In dry and hot weather, watering should be infrequent, but abundant (1-2 times a week, 2-3 buckets per 1 m2). If there is little moisture for the plants, this will affect the size of the flowers - they will be small and not lush.

Excessive moisture can lead to fusarium.

Loosening the soil

After abundant watering or rain, you need to loosen the soil and the aisles around the asters to a depth of 4–5 cm in order to prevent the formation of a soil crust. With a frequency of once every 2 weeks, to accelerate root growth, it is recommended to huddle plants to a height of 5–8 cm from the total level of the flower bed.

Top dressing

To grow beautiful double flowers, the plant needs to be fed with fertilizers.

The first time feeding is carried out before the formation of buds. Better 12-15 days after planting in open ground. Can be used:

• universal potassium humate - 1 tablespoon in a 10-liter bucket of water;
• flower fertilizer "Intermag" - 3-4 liters of solution per 1 sq. m. flower beds;
• mullein solution diluted in proportions 1: 10;
• complex fertilizer "Flower" - 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water.

During the budding period, a second dressing is introduced using superphosphate and potassium sulfate in the amount of 40-50 g per 1 sq. meter.

The third feeding is carried out when the first flowers appear, using the same fertilizers as in the second feeding.

Garter and trim

Depending on the type of aster, additional care may be required. Perennial shrub varieties need pruning to form a well-groomed crown. It is better to spend it in the spring. Pruning extra branches will not only give the bush a neat look, but also stimulate the growth of new healthy shoots, on which new flowers will appear by the end of summer.

Tall asters, reaching a height of 1–2 m, are recommended to be tied to strong pegs or planted near the fence and tied directly to it.

Post-flowering period

Depending on the type and variety, asters have a different flowering period. The early ones finish flowering in August, the late varieties bloom until the very cold. Withered and dried flowers should be removed from the stems and no further measures should be taken until frost.

Annual plants that have faded should not be left in the soil until next spring, as this will encourage the spread of bacteria in the soil. When cold autumn days come, the bushes are pulled out by the roots, folded in a separate heap and burned when dry.

When to plant asters according to the lunar calendar in 2020

Gardeners plant seeds strictly according to the lunar calendar. Aster, like any other plant, is planted during the growing moon.

Favorable and unfavorable days for planting

About 7 days before planting in the ground, the seeds must be soaked. This is the date when the seeds will be placed in a humid environment and should coincide with the sowing date according to the lunar calendar. It is this date that is considered the sowing date, and not the date of sowing germinated seeds into the soil.

Influence of the characteristics of the region

1. Middle lane, Moscow region - weather conditions allow planting aster seedlings in the garden in early May. This is the starting point for determining the sowing period. You can grow strong aster seedlings in 1.5 months, which means that you can start preparing seeds in mid-March.
2. Ural - asters are planted in open ground at the end of May and the first half of June. Suitable sowing days for late varieties fall at the end of March, and for earlier varieties in April.
3. Siberia - since the region is characterized by night frosts until June, it is worth starting to forcing seedlings only in April. When sowing in March, there is a high risk of overgrowing young plants on the windowsill.

The uniqueness of garden jasmine

During the flowering period, there is a large amount of essential oils in the flowers, but only in those that have blossomed quite recently. They have a beneficial effect on human well-being. Benzyl alcohol and jasmine benzyl acetate are able to normalize a person's sexual libido. The buds of such a plant are used to make a special decoction that has the ability to normalize the work of the digestive organs. Also, the substances contained in garden jasmine can cleanse the body of toxins, as well as strengthen the immune system. In any of the varieties of such jasmine, there are substances with medicinal properties. The jasmine bush will not only become a great decoration for your site, but can also significantly improve your health.

In order for the cultivation to be successful, you need to know at what time and how exactly to plant a given flower in open ground.

Description of lavender

It is one of the most famous plants and is in great demand all over the world. Lavender is native to the Mediterranean coast, but despite this, it develops well at home.The flower belongs to the group of perennial, evergreen plants. It is presented in the form of a half-shrub with numerous shoots. In nature, lavender can grow up to 60 centimeters tall.

Useful properties of the plant:

• restores the work of the nervous system;
• normalizes sleep;
• is a good tool for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases;
• improves the functioning of the digestive tract;
• has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties;
• relieves muscle fatigue;
• improves joint function;
• restores the natural color of the skin;
• helps to improve the condition of the hair.

Lack of light can lead to stretching of seedlings, which will negatively affect their further development. Therefore, in cloudy weather, it is recommended to install a lamp near the pot.

Recognizing lavender among many other plant species is not difficult. This can be done by leaves, buds and smell. The plates have a grayish-silvery hue. Lavender flowers are small. They can be either blue or purple. All are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences.

A distinctive feature of such a plant is its rich aroma. The strong smell of lavender can repel insects. Therefore, it is often grown near private houses and in the country.

The flowering of this unique plant can be seen in summer. There are several types of lavender, but only one of them perfectly tolerates frost. To grow a winter-hardy variety, it should be remembered that this can be done using cuttings and grains. The second option is especially popular. It is by this method that it is easy to grow rare varieties that are difficult to acquire in the form of seedlings.

Read also: Photos and descriptions of species of Guzmania

Disease and pest control

Perennial asters are distinguished by their frost resistance. They do not lose their decorative effect even during frost. Despite all their unpretentiousness, they often suffer from improper care and some diseases. So plants that grow in beds with insufficient lighting get sick with powdery mildew. In order to prevent it, before the plants enter the flowering period, we treat them twice with the Topaz preparation. After flowering, perennial asters are sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate. For its preparation, we dilute 50 g of vitriol in 10 liters of water.

To combat another problem in cultivation, namely, yellowing of leaves during the budding period caused by a fungal disease called fusarium, we spray all bushes of perennial asters with a solution of Baikal EM-1.

The plant contains such pests as spider mites and nematodes (gall and leaf). To eliminate the tick, we treat the plants with "Aktellik" or "Fitoferm" 2-3 times. We destroy nematodes by spraying 2-4 times with an interval of 5 days with BI-58 solution.