Astra is an exquisite beauty that can take its rightful place in any garden. Modern varieties are striking in their variety and abundance of colors. It is not surprising that these flowers are very popular among gardeners.
In order to get a healthy plant, you need to know when to plant asters on seedlings. For each grower, planting time is a very serious moment. The timing and abundance of flowering depend on this.
In the Russian climate, asters are usually planted with seedlings. There are also perennial varieties that tolerate winter well enough, but have smaller flowers.
Annual varieties are grown first in the greenhouse or on the windowsill. There are no strict restrictions on the timing of when to plant asters for seedlings.
Several factors should be considered:
- varietal features;
- the degree of illumination of the greenhouse or window sill;
- climate in the region;
- daylight hours.
The combination of these conditions will determine when to plant asters for seedlings. For example, additional illumination allows you to sow seeds in late February - early March. If there are no such conditions, then it is better to plant flowers later: in late March - early April. It is proved that in this case there are more chances to get a strong plant. Most gardeners are guided by a special lunar calendar, due to which they also get excellent results.
If the time for when to plant asters for seedlings is chosen, you need to take care of the selection of high-quality soil and suitable seeds. Sowing is carried out in light, loose soil saturated with humus. Such soil can be prepared independently using turf soil (3 parts), washed sand (1 part) and peat (2 parts). All parts need to be mixed and poured into boxes or mini-greenhouses. Before planting the seeds, they are kept in a special solution that stimulates growth. This measure promotes the friendly growth of seedlings.
Sow the seeds on moist soil, pour 2 cm of washed sand on top. Then carefully pour from the watering can or moisten with a sprayer, cover the boxes with a film.
If everything is done correctly, then the first shoots will be visible in 5-7 days. For further successful growth, the flowers need adequate lighting, regular watering and air temperature in the range + 17-20 ° C during the day and up to +15 ° C at night.
If there were no problems with determining the timing of when to plant asters for seedlings, then it is much more difficult to determine the landing in the ground. Regular return frosts can ruin even the strongest flowers. The ideal time for transplanting into the open ground is the end of May or the beginning of June. At this time, asters have a developed
fibrous root system, due to which they tolerate the transplant well and quickly take root in a new place.
The seedling method described above will allow you to get a beautiful mass flowering in August, and in warm clear weather - even at the end of July. Those who want to get their own seeds need to leave several plants until the end of September - beginning of October. It should be borne in mind that hybrids are unsuitable for collecting seeds, since in the next generation the plant degenerates.