Aster comes from China and belongs to the Astrov family, translated from Latin as "star", and from Greek "beautiful crown". Asters are grown for the soul and are appreciated for their unpretentiousness and long flowering, varied colors and shapes of inflorescences. Everyone, even a novice florist, can grow these beautiful plants.
Features of sowing asters from seeds
Asters can be grown by direct sowing into the ground, in greenhouses or through seedlings at home. When sowing seeds at home, special attention should be paid to dressing the seeds themselves and the soil in which the seedlings are supposed to grow. The seeds are very susceptible to fungal diseases: fusarium, root rot, black leg. For disinfection, the seeds are kept in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes, then washed in water, dried and sown shallowly from 0.5 to 1.5 cm, sprinkling them with river sand, vermiculite.
The soil is also spilled with a fungicide using a solution of the preparation Maxim, Vitaros or potassium permanganate. The soil should be loose and non-acidic. Asters grow only in deoxidized soil.
It is better to use fresh, one-year seeds for sowing. If the seeds are 2-3 years old, then they are briefly soaked in a solution of trace elements (epin, humate), then pickled for 18-24 hours in a fungicide for diseases.
Aster seedlings appear at a temperature of 19-21 ° C, usually on the 5-7th day.
Sowing dates for seedlings at home are March, April. When growing seedlings in the dark winter time, backlight is used.
The strongest aster seedlings are obtained when grown in a greenhouse in early spring. Here the conditions are close to the field. A change in temperature is only beneficial to plants and asters grow strong, form a powerful root system.
Watering the seedlings is carried out in moderate doses, regularly, as the topsoil dries up. Strong overflow should not be allowed, especially when the seedlings are kept cold. Waterlogging causes diseases, root rot is a weak point in all types of asters, both annual and perennial. In the first watering after germination, it is recommended to add a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Loosening must also be done regularly.
Planting aster seedlings in the ground
For asters, they choose open, sunny and dry places. You cannot grow asters in one place for several years in a row. You cannot grow them after carnations, tulips, gladioli due to common diseases. Asters get sick a little and develop well after calendula and marigolds. Fresh and not rotted manure is not added to the soil. Fertilize the soil only using compost, humus and mineral fertilizers. For 1 sq.m. make 2-4 kg of humus, 20-40 g of superphosphate, 20 g of potash and 20 g of nitrogen fertilizer.
Seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the ground as early as possible, starting in mid-April, in May. When planting, make sure that the roots do not intertwine, and the growth point is not covered. Seedlings are planted 1, 5-2 cm deeper than they grew and shed well. In bright sun, unhardened seedlings are shaded from sunburn.
Aster seedlings easily tolerate any transplant. Seedlings can be transplanted with a clod of earth even when the plants have buds.
Outdoor care for asters
Asters are unpretentious plants and easy care for them. If the soil has not been well fertilized in advance, then regular fertilizing is used. At the beginning of growth, when the plants have taken root after planting, they are fed with an infusion of organic matter, herbs. Nitrogen fertilizers with the addition of humates are also suitable. When buds appear, complex fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium are used as top dressing. Asters respond well to fertilizers with trace elements on the leaves. The inflorescences acquire a more saturated color after adding wood ash to the soil. With mass flowering, nitrogen fertilizing is not applied. This reduces the plant's immunity to Fusarium.
Weeding, loosening after rains and watering in dry weather are the main jobs that are carried out during the summer. So, if young plants are not watered, then they can remain dwarf.
When pests appear, and these are mainly sucking insects (aphids, ticks, thrips, etc.), the plants are treated with actelik, inta-vir, spark.
