Many annual flower plants give good self-seeding and sometimes even surprise with their unexpected appearance in flower beds. But, unfortunately, in the conditions of central Russia, the seeds of an annual aster do not have time to ripen and give self-seeding. Therefore, if you have expired seeds, then you can safely sow them before winter.
How to choose a place for sowing an annual aster?
For sowing an annual aster, you need to choose the right place. Asters love open sunlit areas, but they also endure partial shade. The garden bed must be prepared before the onset of stable cold weather, in the month of October and November.
The best predecessors are marigolds and calendula. In no case do not sow aster seeds after gladioli, tulips, carnations and the aster itself.
How to prepare a bed for sowing asters?
The soil on the bed should not be heavy, necessarily close to neutral, i.e. not sour. If there is humus, you can add about 3 kg per 1 square meter, as well as 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.
On the prepared bed, grooves are made with a depth of about 2 cm, cover it with a covering material and leave until the surface of the bed freezes well. Separately, dry soil (peat, store-bought potting soil) is harvested to cover the sown seeds when the time is right.
When and how to sow annual aster seeds?
In November or early December (depending on weather conditions) we start sowing asters. We remove the covering material from the garden bed, sow seeds in the designated grooves in an amount much larger than in spring. And now is the time to use the remaining seeds from the spring sowing, since they will completely lose their germination by the new season.
Cover the sown aster seeds from above with prepared dry soil with a layer of 2-3 cm. Then you can additionally cover the bed with a film or add additional mulch in the form of peat (sawdust) to a height of 3-5 cm. Sowing is completed.
How to care for aster shoots in spring?
In the spring, at the end of March (beginning of April), when the snow melts, the bed must be opened, since the aster seeds were covered with a margin, deep. It will be difficult for the sprouts to get to the top.
However, if there is a threat of severe frosts, care should be taken and the crops should be additionally covered.
It happens that the weather in spring is dry for a long time without rain, then you need to take care of watering the garden.
If the wintering is successful, then the plants obtained from winter sowing will delight with their flowering several weeks earlier, will be more hardened and resistant to bad weather, diseases and pests than from spring planting.
In the same way, you can sow other annual flowers before winter, such as snapdragon, petunia, poppy, escholzia, tobacco, levkoy, alyssum, cornflowers, marigolds and other cold-resistant annuals.
