Unpretentious asters have long been among the most popular colors for flower growers and landscape designers. Recently, there has been a surge in interest in this flower culture, as new hybrid varieties have emerged, differing in variety of shape, structure, size, color of inflorescences and appearance of the bush.
There are two ways to grow asters: seedlings and seedlings (seeds). Planting an aster with seeds has a number of advantages: you do not have to waste time and money on seedling breeding, planting plants are resistant to drought and disease. But it must be taken into account that some varieties of asters, planted with seeds, lose their decorative qualities. We will consider in detail how to grow asters from seeds.
How to plant asters with seeds?
To successfully cultivate a crop, a qualitative seed material should be selected. In this case, it should be borne in mind that the seeds of the asters quickly lose their germination, so the period of their storage should not exceed 2 to 3 years. If seeds are purchased, then they should be purchased in specialized stores, since bags of seed material sold from street trays are exposed to adverse factors such as temperature and humidity changes in the air.
It is equally important to choose a good site for planting asters. It must meet the following requirements:
- the site should be illuminated by the sun;
- avoid low-lying flower beds;
- Astra is not recommended to plant in those places where it grew in the previous 4 to 5 years.
When planting an astra with seeds in the spring, the garden is prepared in advance in the fall. The site is dug, adding 0.2 kg of nitrofoss per 1 m2 and a bucket of compost or manure (reparted). Seeds are planted depending on the climatic zone: in the more southerly regions - at the end of April, in the middle belt - at the beginning of May. The earth and the seedlings are closing. From time to time, the covering material is removed in order to harden the plantings, and with the establishment of stable warm weather cleaned completely.
You can make an asters plant for the winter. In a temperate climatic zone, it is best to sow in October. To do this, a compost with peat or humus is added to the land in the selected area. To enrich the soil add complex fertilizer. The bed is leveled, grooves 2 cm deep are made in it. The prepared area is covered and left to freeze the earth, which usually occurs in early November. Seeds of asters are sown in furrows, sprinkling them with soil. Covered with a foil seedbed with crops left until April. In late April, the film is removed and covered with a covering material, which lies before the onset of warm days. The winter variant of growing annual asters from seeds makes it possible to make flowers resistant to diseases and unfavorable weather conditions, besides, planted before autumn, the plants bloom.
Care for annual asters
As well as landing, care for annual asters is simple and includes the usual procedures for gardeners: watering, loosening, weeding. Weeding the flower planting should be especially careful, as the overgrown weeds drown out the asters and prevent their decorative qualities from appearing. Feeding
Agrotechnics warn that excess fertilizers do not have a good effect on the condition of plants. "Overfed" asters are prone to diseases, mainly fusariosis. Infected with fungus flowers should be eliminated, so that no infection of other plants.