Growing asters from seeds: rules and dates for planting seedlings in 2021, growing and care in the open field

There are a huge number of species and varieties of asters that attract flower growers with their variety of shapes and special splendor, incredible beauty and pickiness in handling. No wonder that annual and perennial specimens are rightfully considered one of the most popular flowers in summer cottages.

Growing an aster seedling capable through seeds at home is painstaking work and a future generous reward, which will surely follow if you do everything correctly and responsibly, so you should first familiarize yourself with the basic nuances of planting and caring for asters.

How to choose or independently prepare aster seeds for planting seedlings

Today, on Internet sites and large, in a sense, garden stores, such as Auchan Garden, Leroy Merlin or OBI, aster seeds are represented by a huge variety of varieties and species, but you can also always collect them from your neighbors in the country or on flower beds in the city in the fall ... The main advantage of self-collecting planting material is its unconditional freshness and understandable quality.

Note! Aster seeds retain their germination ability for only 2 years.

How and when to collect aster seeds with your own hands?

The timing of the collection of aster seeds depends on its variety and species and usually falls somewhere around 45-65 days after the start of active flowering. Due to the fact that late-flowering varieties may delay their flowering until the first frost, it will be much easier to get seed from the buds of early asters, in which little children had time to form and mature well much earlier.

Therefore, in early varieties, dry baskets of formed inflorescences are used for seeds, collected only in sunny weather. You just won't find them in the rain. The heads of late asters must be cut off in advance before the first subzero temperatures and kept at home until the buds wither. The best way is to transplant one of the shrubs into a suitable container and bring the flower to maturity indoors. The collected seeds are wrapped in newspaper and stored in a dry and warm room.

Choosing a variety for planting

Asters are both perennial and annual.

Aster perennials can belong to three large varieties: spring (early), summer (middle) and autumn (late flowering).

The only aster belongs to the early flowering species (it blooms in May-June):

• Alpine.

Mid-flowering (bloom in July-August) are:

• Italian aster (chamomile);
• Aster peeling;
• Aster spread wide (corymbose);
• Bessarabian aster (false Italian).

Late flowering (flowering occurs in September-November) are presented below:

• aster new belgian (virgin);
• shrub aster;
• aster heather ground cover;
• aster New England (American).

Annuals can be classified into undersized (up to 25 cm in height), medium and tall varieties (up to 80 cm).

So, undersized ones are ideal for ennobling paths in a country garden, flower beds, and also flower beds. Among them are: Royal dwarf aster, which belongs to the tiled type. The following varieties belong to the needle type: Baby curb, Summer, Vologda lace, Autumn Olympics and many others.

Tall ones are usually planted for their sake further cutting (for example, for sale), so they are planted in groups in separate specially organized flower beds.

Medium and tall varieties include peony asters: White and Blue Tower, Apollonia heavenly, Roseanne, Gala, Violet turm. Of the needles, it is worth especially mentioning: Naina, Assol, Carmona, Night Star, Belaya Nika, Timiryazevka, Jubilee White, Blue-eyed, Blue Frost, Isadora. Pom-pom varieties are represented by the following varieties: Beatrice yellow, Hai-no-Maru, Winter cherry, Harlequin, Foyertot.

How to sow asters for seedlings with seeds

By the way! There is no difference in growing and sowing seeds of annual and perennial asters.

When to plant seedlings in 2021

Growing asters through seedlings is explained by its long growing season. So, early varieties begin to bloom only 90 days after planting, a late can start the flowering process only after 120 days from the moment of their sowing... Therefore, it is advisable to sow asters for seedlings starting since March (end of February) and until the first days of Aprilso that they will delight with their flowering in June-July.

By the way! Annual asters start blossom about 3-4 months after planting, while perennial will be covered with colorful buds only for next season.

According to the lunar calendar in 2021

Choose the optimal date for sowing aster seeds can help you Moon calendar.

So favorable days for sowing an annual aster in 2021 according to the lunar calendar are:

• in February - 1-8, 10-20, 25-29;
• in March - 2-8, 10-14, 29-31;
• in April - 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 17-20, 24, 25;
• in May - 2-6, 15-17, 20, 21, 25-31;
• in June - 2-4, 7-9, 11-14, 16-19.

Favorable days for sowing perennial asters in 2021 according to the lunar calendar are:

• in February - 1-8, 10-20, 25-29;
• in March - 4-6, 12-14, 26-31;
• in April - 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 13-15, 24, 25;
• in May - 2-6, 15-17, 20, 21, 25-31;
• in June - 2-4, 6-9, 11-14, 23-25.

Unfavorable days according to the lunar calendar for 2021 for sowing annual and perennial asters, the following dates are:

• in February - 10-11, 27;
• in March - 9-10, 13, 28;
• in April - 5-6, 12, 27;
• in May - 2-4, 11, 26, 30-31;
• in June - 10, 24, 26-27.

Preparing aster seeds for planting: treatment

In appearance, the seeds of a perennial, like an annual aster, look quite massive, so you should not have any problems with sowing them.

However, aster seeds must be properly prepared and processed before planting. You can, in particular, soak for a couple of hours in a weak solution potassium permanganateand then dry.

But a more effective means of protecting future seedlings of asters from diseases will be their etching in a special fungicidefor example can be used such as Fitosporin, Fitolavin, Baktofit, Maxim or Klad.

By the way! Store seeds, which are sold in the form of dragees or capsules (they are also called coated), do not need to be processed, the manufacturer has already done this for you.

Tank and soil preparation

Any pots, plastic and wooden boxes, plastic cups, homemade cut-out containers from under cardboard packages for milk can serve as containers for planting and growing seedlings. The main thing is that their depth reaches 7-11 cm.

Advice! Before planting, disinfect the planting containers with one of the antiseptics, then dry.

For an aster, an airy and fertile substrate is ideal, which easily allows both air and water to pass through. You can cook it yourself or buy it in a store ready-made.

Recipe for making a soil mixture for sowing aster seeds at home:

• 1 part of peat (or land from the garden);
• 1 part of humus;
• 1 part sand.

It will be very good if you steam them or heat them in the oven, and then add a little perlite to the mixture and wood ash at the rate of 1 glass per 1 bucket of substrate. And immediately before sowing, abundantly saturate the ground with a solution of 1% potassium permanganate, or even better Fitosporin.

Direct planting of seeds

After the treatment of aster seeds before sowing has been carried out, you can begin to plant them on seedlings in the following way:

1. First, at a distance of 4-6 centimeters, you need to make a 1-2 cm groove.
2. Then spread the seeds evenly and sprinkle them with a thin layer of earth. Experienced flower growers still pour a little sand on top to better protect the soil from unwanted waterlogging.
3. The last step is to cover the landings with a transparent film or cover (glass can be used). Now it is advisable to transfer the future seedlings to a well-lit place where the temperature is about 18-20 degrees.

Video: sowing aster seeds for seedlings

How to care for asters after planting seeds

Seedlings will appear in about a week or even earlier on the 5th day (less often later - on the 10th day). Now it's time to remove the shelter and move the container with young seedlings to a cooler place where the temperature does not rise above 14-16 degrees.

Watering and feeding

It is necessary to moisten the soil regularly, as it dries, it is best to use a spray bottle.

Important! If you do not want the aster seedlings to pick up black leg, and she is very susceptible to this deadly disease, in no case do not overmoisten the soil, take breaks, letting it dry out.

Watering young flower sprouts must be done carefully - they cannot be washed away during watering.

Due to the fact that aster seeds have already been planted in a nutritious soil, feeding young seedlings is not at all necessary. Unless, 2 weeks after the transplant (picking), you can lightly pour the solution ammonium nitrate (10-15 grams per 10 liters), and a little later with an infusion solution wood ash... Just be careful with nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate the growth of green mass, otherwise the aster will not bloom abundantly and not soon.

Picking

The time for the picking of aster seedlings comes when 3-4 true leaves appear. The seedlings must not be allowed to stretch excessively.

The picking containers are filled with the same substrate as before. A small depression is made in the center for seedlings.

To transplant young seedlings, you need one flower in each container. In this case, the distance between the ground and the lower leaves should be approximately 8-12 mm.

Video: how to dive asters (note that the author made a serious mistake by planting 2 seedlings at once in one small container, so in the second video he had to re-pick)

After transplanting, it is necessary to gently (without touching the leaves) watering with warm room water. Then put the pots in a well-lit room with an air temperature of + 19-21 degrees. It is important that the cut seedlings are not exposed to direct sunlight for some time.

That's all the care of aster seedlings before transplanting into open ground!

When and how to plant aster seedlings in open ground

The appearance of new true leaves in asters is a clear signal that the plant needs to start hardening. This can be done in 2 ways: take it outside or just open a window and let fresh air into the room. Naturally, this should be done gradually, and not all at once.

Planting aster seedlings in open ground is carried out when the plants reach 6-8 centimeters in height, and they will have 5-7 vigorous leaves.

It's time to prepare the garden bed. Asters grow well on non-acidic and light soils, the place should be well lit, the plant adores sunlight.

Advice! It is important to loosen the soil well on the site - this will greatly facilitate planting of plants and improve their survival rate in a new place.

The best time and weather to disembark is a cloudy morning or evening when the sun has set.

Planting seedlings of young asters is carried out as follows: plants with lumps of earth are placed in previously prepared pits, while the distance between plantings should be chosen depending on the type and expected size of the future flower, that is, it can vary from 20 cm to half a meter. For better moisture retention, cover the soil around the seedlings (for example, sawdust).

Video: planting aster seedlings in open ground

After 1-2 weeks, you should feed the newly planted aster seedlings. As a rule, complex mineral fertilizers that do not contain nitrogen are used for this. Nitrogen fertilizers should be used only in the bud formation phase.

Important! No way can't use asters as top dressingfresh manure - this is a direct path to the fact that the plant will get sick with fusarium and die.

All further care for aster, as well as the essence of its cultivation in the open field, comes down to regular watering and loosening the soil around the plants. But you need to take care, namely, you need to water it correctly - the water should not get on the leaves of the flowers.

If winters are snowless in your region, then be sure to cover the asters with spruce branches or some other covering material in the fall so that they do not freeze over the winter.

Planting aster seeds in the ground in the fall (non-seedling method)

Sowing aster seeds in the fall directly into the ground is preferred by some gardeners due to the fact that the plants grow stronger, get sick less and begin to delight with their flowers earlier than when growing asters through seedlings.

Note! The site already has a separate article about when and how to sow asters in the fall before winter.

To grow an aster from seeds at home for seedlings, and then take care of flowers in the open field does not require extra efforts and special training, a novice gardener is quite enough to familiarize himself with the recommendations and requirements for the correct cultivation of a flower and actually get down to business. After all, a beautiful and blooming personal plot cannot but please the eye.