Garden aster is well known to people since antiquity. At one time, she captivated with its beauty the inhabitants of Ancient Greece, and China, and Korea, and Mongolia. These countries are the birthplace of this flower.
Today, this plant can be found in urban squares, on flowerbeds, and in the front gardens. Astra is loved not only for its beauty, but also for the duration of flowering. She especially pleases with her colors in the fall, when the sky is often overcast and there are more gray days.
History of aster
Chinese Astra has many admirers all over the world. Translated from Greek, its name means "star", with which many legends are associated. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that these were the tears of the cosmic Virgo, turned into dust, from which beautiful flowers grew. Since this constellation was associated with the goddess of love Aphrodite, the flower also became her symbol.
They sincerely believed that if you stand among the asters at night, you can hear how they are quietly talking with the stars.
Since ancient times, in China, the aster has symbolized female beauty, elegance and modesty. Among many European nations, it became a symbol of sadness over a lost paradise, therefore it was considered a fragment of a distant and inaccessible star.
Many believed that the leaves of an aster thrown into a bonfire were able to drive away snakes, but most often this flower is called an autumn rose, as it is the brightest and most beautiful plant blooming during this period.
Plant description
Chinese Astra has a widely branched root system and erect green or reddish stems. With a height of 20 cm to 90 cm, they can have both straight and branched shoots. The leaves are alternate, oval with green cloves.
An inflorescence is a basket of tubular or reed petals of varying degrees of terry. Each flower has a yellowish center, while the outer side may have pink, purple, burgundy, white, raspberry or lilac color.
Flowering begins in July and continues until frost. To date, Chinese aster in the wild is not as attractive as hybrid varieties, which differ in size, color, and flowering time.
If you plant it in the garden, it is better to choose a place open to the sun, with moderate humidity of the soil and air.
Varieties
In the world there are more than 4000 varieties of asters, which are divided into 40 species. Among such a variety, the annual aster stands apart. It was isolated in a separate form under the general name callistefus, which translates from ancient Greek as "a beautiful flower." The most popular varieties among them are:
- βDragonβ is a series, the distinguishing feature of which is the flower petals. In the inflorescence, they are inclined toward the center, and the outer ones have a twisted appearance. With a diameter of 10-12 cm, it looks very impressive. The plant grows a tall "column" with 8-10 powerful stems. Flowers are preserved for a long time after cutting.
- The Balun series has large, up to 13 cm in diameter, spherical flowers with a large number of petals. Their conical shape prevents water from entering the middle, which prevents decay. It grows with a bush of 6-8 stems.
- The Princess series is represented by female names, for example, Veronica, Hilda, Alexander and others. They are characterized by large (up to 12 cm) semi-double flowers with petals twisted into thin tubes. In the bush for 10-12 shoots.
- The Pomponchiki series has the smallest (up to 5 cm) flowers, but it covers the bush abundantly. Often there are bicolor species.
These varieties of annual asters are most common in flower beds at flower growers because of their beauty and unpretentiousness.
Growing aster
Callistefus Chinese can be sown directly on the bed when frost has already set, or in the spring, covering the seedlings with foil for safety. At home, they can be sown for seedlings. The seeds of this plant are so small and light that up to 450-500 pieces per 1 g. When buying seed, you should pay attention to the expiration date, since the aster has only 2 years of germination.
When choosing flowers for a summer residence, you should think about a place for them in advance. Asters prefer the sunny side with medium soil and air humidity, although they can tolerate partial shade. The best soil for these flowers is fertile with neutral or slightly alkaline acidity.
A few days before planting seedlings, the soil should be fertilized with humus and wood ash. For large varieties, the distance between the bushes up to 30 cm should be observed, for medium-sized ones - 20 cm, and for small ones up to 10 cm is enough.
Astra Care
Although the Chinese aster is generally not picky, to get lush decorative bushes, it should be a little courted.
- In dry weather, it should be watered abundantly, avoiding stagnation of water.
- The first top dressing, consisting of a complex of mineral fertilizers, should be carried out 2 weeks after planting, provided that the plant has taken root.
- Subsequent feeding is carried out during periods of budding and flowering. You can use fertilizers that affect the brightness of the color and growth of the plant.
- Tall and lush bushes should be tied up.
These are all the requirements that Chinese astra makes. Growing it is not a hassle, but you can get a flower bed of beautiful and bright "stars" that bloom until the frost.
Breeding
This type of flower propagates only by seed. You can sow them both at home in pots, and in a greenhouse, and in the open ground.
After sowing, sprinkle with dry crushed humus, pour and cover the seeds with a film. They emerge on the fifth to tenth day, but until the first leaves appear, it is necessary to maintain the temperature up to +20 degrees. After that, it must be reduced to +15 so that the plant develops well.
Transplanting seedlings into the open ground is necessary in June, when the heat has already been established, then the flowers will bloom in late July or in August and last until the end of October. If you do this earlier, you should prepare for the fact that the flowering period of her will be reduced.
Disease
The most common disease that asters can be susceptible to is fusarium infection. Symptoms appear in plants during the formation of a bud or flowering. There are no radical ways to combat this fungal disease, but you can avoid it by taking a number of preventive measures.
- Firstly, these flowers cannot be planted in the same place earlier than after 5 years of break.
- Secondly, when preparing the soil, do not use fresh compost or manure, replacing them with humus.
- Thirdly, it is better to treat the seeds with an antifungal solution before sowing.
- Fourth, do not plant plants close to each other so that they can be well ventilated.
- Fifthly, make sure that the water does not stagnate around the root neck.
If some plant is sick, then it must immediately be removed and burned. In addition to fusarium, asters can become "victims" of gray rot and powdery mildew, from which spraying with a solution of fundazole will save.
Pests
The main pests of asters are:
- Kidney aphid, which affects the plant at the seedling stage, having only 3-4 first leaves. It deforms the leaves and, as it were, twists them. Pest control is the spraying of chlorophos, depis or karbofos before the flower has more than 4 leaves.
- Special preparations, for example, Iskra and metaldehyde, save from thrips and slugs.
If you carry out preventive work and make sure that asters do not have stagnation of water in the soil, then the rest are the best flowers for giving. They are beautiful, long flowering and unpretentious.