Beginning flower growers should plant in their garden aster. The plant has beautiful inflorescences and is unpretentious. It's easy enough to take care of it. It will delight you with its flowering until the coldest weather.
Choosing a landing site
- An excellent place for planting flowers would be an open sunny space protected from the wind.
- Extreme heat and drought have a negative impact on plants and can lead to loss of decorative properties.
- Partial shade, a good place for asters.
- Flowers do not like dampness and close proximity to groundwater.
- Beneficial predecessors on the ground are calendula, perennial herbs, tagetes, marigolds, and marigolds.
- The site can be used for 6 years. It is advisable to return it to its original place after 4 years.
- To prevent aster disease, the site should not be located next to potatoes or coniferous trees.
- Light and fertile soil should be provided.
- It has been preparing since the fall. It is worth adding ammonium sulfate, potassium salt and superphosphate to the soil.
- The earth is dug up and a mixture of river sand with peat or humus is added. Then the soil will be breathable, fertile and drained.
You should choose soil with neutral acidity.
Adding humus in the spring can cause fungal disease of the flower.
How to grow seedlings?
When to plant?
- On the 7th day after picking, the seedlings are fed with complex fertilizers. Continue feeding until planting in the ground at intervals of 7 days.
- The seedlings must be gradually hardened off. To do this, they take her outside for 15 minutes, every day the time increases, bringing the walk to 5 hours. Hardening off will help the seedlings to take root well.
- As soon as the seedlings reach 10 cm in height and have 8 leaves on the stem, they are ready for planting in the ground.
- Usually this is the second ten days of May. Or one month old from the time of sowing. Aster is a cold-resistant plant and is not afraid of temperatures dropping to 3°C.
How to plant?
Methods
There are 2 methods of growing asters.
Seedless. In the first ten days of March they are sown early varieties. The earth needs to warm up. Flowering of plants begins in July. The last ten days of April are when later varieties are grown at a temperature of at least 10 degrees Celsius. Planted seeds should be watered and covered with soil or covering material until seedlings emerge. This coating protects the seedlings from frost.
You can plant seeds in the fall. For this purpose, beds with grooves are prepared. As soon as the soil freezes a little, the seeds are sown and sprinkled with soil. Flowers with this method of cultivation are less susceptible to disease, more hardy and strong.
Rassadny. In the third decade of March, seeds are planted in a greenhouse or in containers. The soil can be used universally or peat, which is purchased in the store.
Seeds should be chosen of high quality. Seeds collected from last year have good germination. Every year this percentage decreases.
If you collect the seeds yourself, this will be a guarantee good flowering. You just have to wait for the varieties you like to wither and a fluff to form in the center of the bud. This will be the signal to collect the inflorescences. They are sent to a dry place where they are completely dry.
Step-by-step instruction
Seedling method:
- The soil is placed in containers or pots.
- Furrows are prepared to a depth of 5 mm and watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- The seeds are sown and sprinkled with humus. You just need to sift it first.
- Gently pour the solution with potassium permanganate (pale pink).
- The containers are covered with film and sent to a warm place (20 ° C).
- When seedlings appear, the package must be removed and the seedlings placed in a light place.
- Do not water until the leaves appear.
- Next, the seedlings are picked. Let's say that during this period they have become very elongated, then you need to plant them in the ground right up to the leaves.
- On the 7th day after diving, the seedlings are fed. For this, complex mineral fertilizers are used.
- In early May, seedlings are planted in the ground.
Seedless method:
- Seeds are planted in the ground and sprinkled thin layer soil (5 mm) and covered with cellophane film.
- Next, the furrows are watered. Let’s say the weather is dry at this moment, then you need to do mulching. This could be peat or grass clippings.
- When young seedlings appear, the film is removed and covered only in case of frost.
- As soon as two leaves appear on the stem, they should be discharged at a distance of 14 cm from each other.
Care
- Periodically loosen the soil and weed out weeds. This procedure is done after rain and watering.
- Water to a depth of 5 cm. Asters do not like excessive or insufficient watering. For example, in hot and dry weather you should water less often, but more abundantly. The norm is for 1 sq. meter 3 buckets of liquid.
- Hilling of the stem is carried out before branching to a height of 7 cm. This is done for rapid root growth.
- Be sure to feed the plants with mineral fertilizers.
- Buds that have bloomed must be removed in time.
Basic Rules
- Astra does not like excess moisture, as it is considered drought-resistant. However, in dry summers it is watered abundantly.
- Lush flowering depends on watering at the moment when the buds are set.
- Fertile soil, irrigation and periodic fertilizing make it possible for aster to bloom until frost.
- To prevent diseases, plants should be sprayed. Solutions for such purposes must contain microelements: boric acid, ammonium, copper, cobalt, zinc, potassium permanganate.
Fertilizer
Pests and diseases
Diseases
Asters are light-loving and cold-resistant; they are typical long-day plants with a long (up to 6 months) growing season and tolerate frosts down to -3°C. They bloom 3-4 months after sowing. The inflorescence is laid in the 4-6th leaf phase. Flowering of double inflorescences lasts up to 30 days, non-double ones fade faster. Flowering of plants of various varieties lasts from 40 to 50 days, some varieties more than 50 days. It grows well at an average daily summer temperature above 15 "C and a relative air humidity of 60-70%. Hot and dry weather negatively affects the development of asters: greening and germination of flowers in the inflorescence is observed, the fullness of the inflorescences is lost and the number of seeds set decreases. In dry weather, asters watering is required.
Soil preparation and fertilizers
Asters can grow on any soil, but prefer light and medium loamy, sandy loam, chernozem soils rich in organic matter with an acidity close to neutral (pH 6.5-7.5). The best predecessors for asters are perennial grasses or fallows. The site for growing asters is usually prepared in the fall. The soil is dug up, limed and fertilizers are applied: superphosphate (30 g/m2) and potassium fertilizers (20 r/m2). Nitrogen fertilizers (10 g/m5) are applied in the spring before pre-planting cultivation.
Soils with high acidity are limed. For this purpose, ground limestone is used, dolomite flour, calcareous tuff or slaked lime. The rate of application of ground limestone, depending on the acidity of the soil, is 200-400 t/i7, slaked lime is 150-300 g/mg. When adding lime in the spring, it is thoroughly mixed with the soil.
Manure humus and other fresh organic fertilizers Asters cannot be tolerated - fertilizing with them leads to fusarium disease. Intensive growth of asters is promoted by fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers enhance the effect of nitrogen fertilizers on growth and flowering. Without nitrogen fertilizers and with their deficiency, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers improve the growth of asters only slightly. Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers should be applied not only in the spring, but also during the growing season in the form of root and foliar feeding. Fertilizer application rates must be adjusted taking into account the composition of the soil and the content of soluble nutrients in it. The amount of fertilizer applied before planting asters and when feeding depends on weather conditions, as well as from providing plants with moisture. Therefore, in rainy summers it is necessary to feed the plants more often.
In addition, asters cannot tolerate excess water in the soil, and for planting they need to select areas with a slope to the south or southeast, having a permeable subsoil layer and a deep location of groundwater.
The predecessors of asters may be various plants, but you cannot plant them in the same areas as last year, because this increases the incidence of fusarium, which can cause the death of a large number of plants.
Asters are very demanding of light.
In dry summers they need plenty of watering.
Sowing
For sowing, it is better to use fresh seeds from last year's harvest. They have good germination energy and the most high germination rate(50-80%). You can also sow old seeds, but their germination rate will be lower, which must be taken into account when setting the seeding rate. Before soaking in a solution or before sowing dry, seeds must be treated with bactericidal preparations.
The sowing rate of seeds with a germination rate of 50-80% is 5-7 g/m1 with row spacing of 3-4 cm. The germination rate of seeds increases if, before sowing, they are soaked for 15-18 hours in a solution of micro-fertilizers: boron, manganese, molybdenum , copper. Wetting improves the quality of inflorescences and increases their number when using asters for cutting. If you soak the seeds for a day (in a solution of the growth regulator epin (2 drops of the drug per 56 ml of water), seedlings appear on the second day. The most favorable temperature for seed germination is 18-20°C, and for normal growth of seedlings - 15-16°C. Mass shoots appear on the 4-7th day after sowing.Asters tolerate light spring and autumn frosts well (up to -4...-7° C).
The timing, methods and place of sowing depend on the conditions of the zone and the properties of the variety.
IN open ground seeds are sown in autumn and spring. Pre-winter sowing is carried out at an average daily temperature of 2-4 ° C, so that the seeds do not grow before the onset of frost. Florists have noted that when autumn sowing the incidence of plant diseases with fusarium is significantly reduced. At the end of October, shortly before frost, seeds are sown in prepared ridges, covered with garden soil and the crops are mulched with peat, sawdust and other organic materials. In early or mid-April, depending on the weather, after the snow melts, the crops are opened and the mulch is removed. The shoots appear at the end of April already hardened. Aster is a cold-resistant crop, and plants are not afraid of frost. However, the seeds of asters sown in winter do not ripen.
Aster is grown and seedling method. In January-February, the seeds are sown in boxes and placed under the snow until the spring sowing time. In March-April, the boxes are brought into a greenhouse or warm greenhouses with a temperature of 20 ° C. Shoots under these conditions appear within a week. When sowing in winter, seedlings become more hardened and resistant to blackleg pathogens. More often, however, seeds are sown in boxes in a greenhouse or in the soil of a rack from the beginning of March to the beginning of April, 45-60 days before planting in open ground
Flowering occurs 3.5-4 months after sowing and continues until severe frosts. A single inflorescence blooms for 20-40 days. The seeds ripen 35-40 days after the start of flowering (sooner in non-double forms). An indicator of seed ripeness is the appearance of a characteristic fluff on the surface of the basket. The seed yield from one aster plant is on average 2-2.5 g. There are 300-500 seeds in one gram. Their germination lasts 3 years.
Growing seedlings
Good seedlings should be healthy, hardened, have a short (6-10 cm), strong stem and 5-7 large bright green leaves. From elongated seedlings with pale green leaves it is very difficult to grow beautiful bushes with normally developed inflorescences. The quality of seedlings depends on the quality of the seeds and growing conditions. Depending on the length of the growing season, the variety and purpose of cultivating asters, seedlings can be grown in greenhouses, greenhouses, on steam and cold beds, temporarily covered plastic film. The period for sowing asters in various greenhouses and greenhouses is from March 15 to April 10. It depends on the length of the growing season and the purpose of the asters, as well as on the quality of greenhouses and spring weather conditions.
It is necessary to sow aster seeds on racks, in boxes or greenhouses in specially prepared soil (soil).
The soil mixture is prepared from turf soil, peat (humus) and sand (3:1:0.5 or 2:1:0.1). You can also use non-turf soil, but one taken from an area where asters have not grown for 5-6 years. Peat that is well rotted and has a pH of 6.5-7.5 is successfully used.
Before sowing, the soil is sifted through a screen (sieve), after which it is advisable to treat it with fungicides. The layer of soil on the rack should be 10-12 cm thick, in the box 8-10 cm and in the greenhouse 12-15 cm.
The treated soil is poured into boxes and covered with a 2 cm layer of clean sand on top to protect the seedlings from blackleg. Sand facilitates the emergence of seedlings and does not create a crust when watering during seedling growth. Before sowing, the surface of the sand is moistened using a watering can with a fine strainer. The seeding rate per box is 1.5-2 g of seeds. The sown seeds are covered with a layer of sand 0.3-0.5 cm and carefully moistened using a watering can with a strainer. With sufficient humidity and a temperature of 18-25 ° C, seedlings appear on the 3-7th day after sowing. At this time, the temperature is reduced to 5-7 ° C so that the seedlings do not stretch.
With the appearance of two true leaves, the seedlings dive into picking boxes or semi-warm greenhouses. With a feeding area of 7x7 cm, 35 pieces are placed in boxes, and 300-320 seedlings are placed under the greenhouse frame. You should not delay picking, as this can lead to the death of seedlings and poor plant survival.
The soil for picking asters should be loose and fertile. The most suitable mixture is 6-7 parts of peat (by volume), 2-3 parts of turf soil and 1 part of mullein. For 1 cu. m of such a mixture add 2-4 kg of superphosphate and 1-1.5 kg of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride. It is useful to include in the mixture 8-12 kg of wood ash, which contains various microelements that asters need. The mixture may have a different composition, but in any case it should be loose, nutritious, with a pH close to 7.
Caring for aster seedlings in greenhouses and greenhouses consists of timely watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil, maintaining the required temperature, humidity, lighting and hardening before planting in open ground. Hardening plays an important role, since when planting seedlings in the ground, hardened plants get sick less, are not damaged by burns, and look healthy. Plants are hardened off by taking the boxes into greenhouses or opening the greenhouse for ventilation for several hours.
Planting care
On all types of soil, asters need fertilizing with fertilizers.
The first feeding is carried out 10-15 days after planting the seedlings, when the asters do not yet have a well-developed root system. At this time, ammonium nitrate and superphosphate are added to the soil at 30-40 r/m1, and potassium sulfate is added to the soil at 20-30 g/mg.
The second feeding should be carried out during the mass budding of asters. At this time, superphosphate and potassium fertilizers are added - 25-30 g/m3 and ammonium nitrate - 20-25 g/m3. If required, asters are fed at the beginning of flowering. In this phase, it is enough to add 10-20 g/m2 of potassium sulfate
From the moment the buds appear, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is stopped.
In dry summers, it is better to apply liquid fertilizing simultaneously with watering the plants. When applying fertilizers, you should be extremely careful, since fertilizers that fall on the leaves of asters, especially in hot weather, cause severe burns and spoil the decorative appearance of the plants.
When caring for asters, it is important to perform fine loosening of the soil between rows and in rows, hilling, watering and pest control. After weeds appear, as well as after watering or rain, when a crust forms, it is necessary to loosen the soil in the rows and between the rows.
The first loosening can be carried out immediately after planting asters, since the soil becomes compacted during planting, which leads to increased evaporation of moisture and reduced access of air in the soil, thereby worsening the rooting conditions for asters. But the last loosening should be done as late as possible. Its duration is determined by the branching of asters. In total, during the growth of the aster, two to four loosenings are required in the rows and between the rows.
When watering and rainy weather, with the appearance of a soil crust, you need to loosen more often. The depth of loosening is no more than 4-6 cm. Deep loosening increases the evaporation of water, damages the roots of asters located in top layer soil
CARE OF ASTERAS, EXPERT ADVICE Save the cheat sheet and share with your classmates! All plants love to be cared for. Aster is no exception. She is not picky, but if she chooses the right place with the right soil composition, and does not forget to water and feed her, then the flowering will be lush and long-lasting. In order for asters to please the eye with magnificent flowering, they must be grown in well-lit places, because these beauties are very light-loving. To avoid infection through soil by diseases, it is recommended to return to the original planting site after 4-5 years. Like many plants, asters cannot tolerate excessive moisture and stagnant water, so the soil must be permeable with deep groundwater. Light sandy loam and loamy soils with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction (pH 6.5-8) are quite suitable for them, but they must first be cultivated. Preparing the soil Cultivation of the soil for asters begins in the fall. The soil must be dug up to a depth of 22-30 cm and fertilizer added for digging: 2-4 kg of humus or compost (astra does not tolerate fresh manure, since it contributes to the infestation of plants by fusarium) and 6-9 g of superphosphate and potassium salt per 1 m2. If the soil is acidic, liming should be done in late autumn, taking into account that adding 350-400 g of carbonated lime per 1 m2 increases the pH by 1. In early spring, the soil should be loosened to a depth of 15-18 cm to retain more moisture and allow germination weeds who spent the winter in it. Before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, the area should be thoroughly weeded, leveled and loosened again to a depth of 4-6 cm. Growing seedlings Asters in the Non-Black Earth Region are usually grown through seedlings. Seeds are sown in a window in the second half of March, in a greenhouse - in April. For sowing, mix turf soil with peat and sand in a ratio of 2:2:1. Preferably received soil mixture sift through a sieve with 1-1.5 cm holes. Good garden soil directly from the site will also do. Sprinkle the soil on top with a layer of clean sand 2-2.5 cm thick. Seedling boxes or pots are thoroughly spilled with a thick solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per 10 liters of water) and filled with soil. 1-2 days before sowing, it is spilled with a thick solution of potassium permanganate, or, in extreme cases, just boiling water. During sowing, the soil should not be wet, but only moist. The seeds are sown scattered, not sprinkled with soil, but covered with paper. It is removed after 3-5 days, when shoots appear. Then the box is placed on a bright windowsill and the seedlings are carefully watered with water at room temperature. In the future, watering should be infrequent, but plentiful. The temperature when growing seedlings is maintained at 16-18°C during the day and 12-15°C at night. This temperature can be achieved by ventilating the room or greenhouse. The time from emergence to picking (7-8 days after emergence) is a very crucial moment, since a “black leg” may appear. During this period, you need to carefully monitor both soil moisture and air temperature. Seedlings dive when the first true leaf forms. Plants are planted every 5-7 cm in a checkerboard pattern and watered. If the subcotyledonous knee of the seedlings is very elongated, then when picking they can be deepened almost to the cotyledon leaves. 7-10 days after picking, the rooted seedlings are fed with any complex mineral fertilizer(30 g per 10 liters of water). When the 4th leaf appears, the seedlings begin to harden, lowering the temperature so that it is 10-12°C during the day and 8-10°C at night. The total duration of hardening should be 15-20 days. Hardened seedlings take root better and grow faster after transplantation. It can withstand temperatures down to minus 4°C. During hardening, reduce watering. Plants are planted in the 2-3rd decade of May. By the time of planting in the ground, asters should have a strong stem 6-10 cm high and 5-7 large bright green leaves. 2-3 days before transplanting and before planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly, especially if they were grown without pots. This will help better preserve the roots and soil ball. It is preferable to plant in the evening. For asters, the feeding area is very important - they should never be thickened. Seedlings of tall varieties are placed at a distance of 20-25 cm between plants, low-growing asters are planted after 10-15 cm. When multi-row planting, 60-70 cm is left between rows. If planted in a raised flower bed (15-25 cm high), large asters are placed on a distance of 30-35 and 35-40 cm between rows, undersized by 15-20 and 20-25 cm, respectively. Planting is carried out with double watering: in the holes and from above. The soil around the planted seedlings is sprinkled (mulched) with dry soil. In hot weather, it is advisable to cover the plants with a light non-woven fabric for several days for better survival. Tip: In order for asters to form strong bushes with lush inflorescences, on the eve of sowing, soak the seeds for 7 hours in a solution of zinc chloride or molybdenum (0.5-08 g per 1 liter of water). We sow in the ground. Usually, asters are grown through seedlings for earlier flowering (especially late varieties) or obtaining seeds. If all this is not so necessary, then asters can be grown by sowing in open ground. Such plants are less likely to suffer from fusarium and bloom longer, although they produce almost no seeds. Asters can be sown in the spring, as soon as the soil warms up. Usually sowing is carried out in early May, seedlings appear on May 19-24. Seeds are prepared in the same way as when sowing seedlings, and sown in furrows 0.5-0.8 cm deep. Cover with a layer of soil, water well, and lightly mulch or cover in dry weather. non-woven material before emergence. When 2-3 true leaves appear, the seedlings are thinned out to a distance of 10-15 cm (taking into account the fact that seedlings will continue to fall out in the future). You don’t have to pull out the excess plants, but carefully dig them up and transplant them to another place. Flowering of asters sown directly into the ground will be 19-25 days later than home seedlings, but longer. You can sow asters in late autumn. They are sown in previously prepared soil, placed in furrows, and sprinkled with prepared dry soil. The soil must be frozen when sowing, otherwise the seeds may germinate and die. Winter sowing in December-January is also possible for asters. If there are no severe frosts, snow is raked from areas prepared for asters, dry seeds are sown in furrows and sprinkled with just dry soil or mixed with peat, and a layer of snow is poured on top. With pre-winter or winter sowing, seedlings appear in late April - early May. Caring for asters includes mandatory loosening of the soil. It is advisable to do this after each watering or rain. Loosen the soil to a depth of 4-6 cm, taking into account that the bulk of the roots are in the surface layer (20 cm). Before the plants begin to branch, light hilling can be done to a height of 5-7 cm. This will enhance root growth. When watering, you must remember that both a lack and an excess of water are harmful to asters. In hot weather, it is better to water less frequently, but abundantly (up to 3 buckets per 1 m2) and be sure to loosen after that. If in dry weather you are late with watering or give it insufficiently, the inflorescences will be small and of small size. Tip: Asters sown before winter not only bloom earlier, but also form more lush inflorescences. If possible, then after rooting the seedlings it is better to feed the asters with a solution of mullein diluted 1:10. In order for the aster to grow into a beauty, it needs to be fed. Usually they give 3 feedings. The first time is fed 10-15 days after planting in the ground or thinning, using 20-25 g of ammonium nitrate, 50-60 g of superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m2. When the buds appear, a second feeding is given, this time using 50-60 g/m2 of superphosphate and potassium sulfate. The same fertilizers are given during the third feeding, which is carried out at the beginning of asters flowering.
Asters Many gardeners grow them on their plots, but few feed them. Meanwhile, to strengthen the seedlings, for lush flowering plants already planted in the ground and growth are needed feeding. About, How can you feed asters?, we read in the book by O. Ganichkina.
Feeding seedlings
It is enough to feed aster seedlings once in early May. To do this, dissolve 1 teaspoon of potassium humate (universal) and the same amount of nitrophoska in 2 liters of water. Seedlings can be moved into open ground at the end of May and covered with protective material until June 10.
Open ground. Feeding during the growth phase
In open ground, it is recommended to feed asters for the first time before budding. To do this, dissolve 1 tablespoon of potassium humate (universal) in a 10-liter bucket of water. Instead, you can use Intermag fertilizer for flowers. Solution consumption: 3-4 liters per 1 square meter.
Method of feeding (first) from another source: Use complex fertilizer “Flower”. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of the product in 10 liters of water. Solution consumption: 4 liters per 1 square meter.
Feeding during and for flowering
Second feeding required during budding and the appearance of the very first flowers. Use “Potassium Humate” or “Intermag” for flowers.
- A solution of potassium humate is prepared in the following proportion: 1 tbsp. spoon for 3 liters of water. Solution consumption: 3-4 liters per 1 square meter.
- Intermag solution: 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water. Consumption: 3-5 liters per 1 square meter.
And in another source, during the formation of buds, they recommend feeding:
- Agricol 7 (complex fertilizer). Prepare a solution: for 10 liters of water, 1 tbsp. spoon of fertilizer. Solution consumption: 4 liters per 1 square meter.
From my own experience and about soils
We never feed asters, and they delight us with their blooms despite this. Fertilizing will be advisable on poor, unfertilized soils. Asters prefer light to medium loamy soils. These flowers are planted with seeds in open ground in the fall before winter or in the spring, as well as with preliminary cultivation of seedlings.
- Dig up and flavor the soil with humus and peat (3 kg each), as well as superphosphate and potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon each), you can also add urea (1 tablespoon), wood ash and dolomite flour (200 g each). The proportions are given per 1 square meter.
Asters love wood ash, therefore, both as a fertilizer and for feeding during growth, you can simply scatter it on the surface of the soil around the plants. For 1 square meter you need 300 g. ash.
All plants love to be cared for. Aster is no exception.She is not picky, but if she chooses the right place with the right soil composition, and does not forget to water and feed her, then the flowering will be lush and long-lasting.
In order for asters to please the eye with magnificent flowering, they must be grown in well-lit places, because these beauties are very light-loving. To avoid infection through soil by diseases, it is recommended to return to the original planting site after 4-5 years.
Like many plants, asters cannot tolerate excessive moisture and stagnant water, so the soil must be permeable with deep groundwater.
Light sandy loam and loamy soils with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction (pH 6.5-8) are quite suitable for them, but they must first be cultivated.
- We prepare the ground. Cultivation of the soil for asters begins in the fall. The soil must be dug up to a depth of 22-30 cm and fertilizer added for digging: 2-4 kg of humus or compost (astra does not tolerate fresh manure, since it contributes to the infestation of plants by fusarium) and 6-9 g of superphosphate and potassium salt per 1 m2.
If the soil is acidic, liming should be done in late autumn, taking into account that adding 350-400 g of lime carbonate per 1 m2 increases the pH by 1.
In early spring, the soil needs to be loosened to a depth of 15-18 cm in order to retain more moisture and allow weeds that have overwintered in it to germinate.
Before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, the area should be thoroughly weeded, leveled and loosened again to a depth of 4-6 cm.
- We grow seedlings. Asters in the Non-Black Earth Region are usually grown through seedlings. Seeds are sown in a window in the second half of March, in a greenhouse - in April. For sowing, mix turf soil with peat and sand in a ratio of 2:2:1.
It is advisable to sift the resulting soil mixture through a sieve with 1-1.5 cm holes. Good garden soil directly from the site will also work. Sprinkle the soil on top with a layer of clean sand 2-2.5 cm thick.
Seedling boxes or pots are thoroughly spilled with a thick solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per 10 liters of water) and filled with soil. 1-2 days before sowing, it is spilled with a thick solution of potassium permanganate, or, in extreme cases, just boiling water. During sowing, the soil should not be wet, but only moist.
The seeds are sown scattered, not sprinkled with soil, but covered with paper. It is removed after 3-5 days, when shoots appear. Then the box is placed on a bright windowsill and the seedlings are carefully watered with water at room temperature.
In the future, watering should be infrequent, but plentiful. The temperature when growing seedlings is maintained at 16-18°C during the day and 12-15°C at night. This temperature can be achieved by ventilating the room or greenhouse.
The time from emergence to picking (7-8 days after emergence) is a very crucial moment, since a “black leg” may appear. During this period, you need to carefully monitor both soil moisture and air temperature. Seedlings dive when the first true leaf forms.
Plants are planted every 5-7 cm in a checkerboard pattern and watered. If the subcotyledonous knee of the seedlings is very elongated, then when picking they can be deepened almost to the cotyledon leaves.
7-10 days after picking, the rooted seedlings are fed with any complex mineral fertilizer (30 g per 10 liters of water).
When the 4th leaf appears, the seedlings begin to harden, lowering the temperature so that it is 10-12°C during the day and 8-10°C at night. The total duration of hardening should be 15-20 days.
Hardened seedlings take root better and grow faster after transplantation. It can withstand temperatures down to minus 4°C.
During hardening, reduce watering. Plants are planted in the 2-3rd decade of May. By the time of planting in the ground, asters should have a strong stem 6-10 cm high and 5-7 large bright green leaves.
2-3 days before transplanting and before planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly, especially if they were grown without pots. This will help better preserve the roots and soil ball. It is preferable to plant in the evening.
For asters, the feeding area is very important - they should never be thickened. Seedlings of tall varieties are placed at a distance of 20-25 cm between plants, low-growing asters are planted after 10-15 cm.
When planting in multiple rows, leave 60-70 cm between the rows. If planted on a raised flower bed (15-25 cm high), large asters are placed at a distance of 30-35 and 35-40 cm between the rows, low-growing ones at 15-20 and 20-25, respectively cm.
Planting is carried out with double watering: in the holes and from above. The soil around the planted seedlings is sprinkled (mulched) with dry soil. In hot weather, it is advisable to cover the plants with a light non-woven fabric for several days for better survival.
Our advice: In order for asters to form strong bushes with lush inflorescences, on the eve of sowing, soak the seeds for 7 hours in a solution of zinc chloride or molybdenum (0.5-08 g per 1 liter of water).
- Sow into the ground. Typically, asters are grown from seedlings for earlier flowering (especially late varieties) or for obtaining seeds. If all this is not so necessary, then asters can be grown by sowing in open ground. Such plants are less likely to suffer from fusarium and bloom longer, although they produce almost no seeds.
Asters can be sown in spring as soon as the soil warms up. Usually sowing is carried out in early May, seedlings appear on May 19-24. Seeds are prepared in the same way as when sowing seedlings, and sown in furrows 0.5-0.8 cm deep.
Cover with a layer of soil, water well, and in dry weather lightly mulch or cover with non-woven material until shoots appear. When 2-3 true leaves appear, the seedlings are thinned out to a distance of 10-15 cm (taking into account the fact that seedlings will continue to fall out in the future).
You don’t have to pull out the excess plants, but carefully dig them up and transplant them to another place. Flowering of asters sown directly into the ground will be 19-25 days later than home seedlings, but longer.
You can sow asters in late autumn. They are sown in previously prepared soil, placed in furrows, and sprinkled with prepared dry soil. The soil must be frozen when sowing, otherwise the seeds may germinate and die. Winter sowing in December-January is also possible for asters.
If there are no severe frosts, snow is raked from areas prepared for asters, dry seeds are sown in furrows and sprinkled with just dry soil or mixed with peat, and a layer of snow is poured on top. With pre-winter or winter sowing, seedlings appear in late April - early May.
- We're courting. Caring for asters includes mandatory loosening of the soil. It is advisable to do this after each watering or rain. Loosen the soil to a depth of 4-6 cm, taking into account that the bulk of the roots are in the surface layer (20 cm).
Before the plants begin to branch, light hilling can be done to a height of 5-7 cm. This will enhance root growth. When watering, you must remember that both a lack and an excess of water are harmful to asters. In hot weather, it is better to water less frequently, but abundantly (up to 3 buckets per 1 m2) and be sure to loosen after that. If in dry weather you are late with watering or give it insufficiently, the inflorescences will be small and of small size.
Advice: Asters sown before winter not only bloom earlier, but also form more lush inflorescences. If possible, then after rooting the seedlings it is better to feed the asters with a solution of mullein diluted 1:10.
So that the aster grows up to be a beauty, she needs to be fed. Usually they give 3 feeding.
The first time is fed 10-15 days after planting in the ground or thinning, using 20-25 g of ammonium nitrate, 50-60 g of superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m2.
When the buds appear, a second feeding is given, this time using 50-60 g/m2 of superphosphate and potassium sulfate. The same fertilizers are given during the third feeding, which is carried out at the beginning of asters flowering.
Nina Ippolitova, candidate of agricultural sciences sciences
