Astra Chinese (kallistefus): description, cultivation and care

Garden aster is well known to people since ancient times. At one time, it captivated by its beauty residents and ancient Greece, and China, and Korea, and Mongolia. It is these countries that are the birthplace of this flower.

Today, this plant can be found in urban squares, on flower beds, and in front gardens. Astra is loved not only for beauty, but also for the duration of flowering. Especially it pleases with its colors in the autumn, when the sky is more often covered with clouds and gray days become larger.

History of the asters

Astra Chinese has many admirers all over the world. In translation from Greek, its name means "star", which is associated with many legends. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that it was the tears of the cosmic Virgin, turned into dust, from which rose beautiful flowers. Since this constellation was associated with the goddess of love Aphrodite, the flower became its symbol.

They sincerely believed that if you get up at night among asters, you can hear them talking quietly with the stars.

In China, from the time of the ancient astra, the annual one symbolized female beauty, elegance and modesty. In many European nations, it became a symbol of sadness for a lost paradise, therefore it was considered a fragment of a distant and unattainable star.

Many believed that the leaves of an aster, thrown into a fire, are able to drive away snakes, but most often this flower is called an autumn rose, as it is the brightest and beautiful plant blooming in this period.

Description of the plant

Astra Chinese has a widely ramified root system and erect green or reddish stems. At a height of 20 cm to 90 cm, they can have both straight and branched shoots. Leaves are regular, oval with denticles of green color.

Inflorescence is a basket of tubular or reed lobes of varying degrees of terry. Each flower is medium yellowish, while the outer side may have pink, purple, burgundy, white, raspberry or lilac.

Flowering begins in July and lasts until frost. To date, aster Chinese in the wild is not as attractive as hybrid varieties, which differ in size, color and flowering time.

If you plant it in the garden, it is better to choose a place open to the sun, with a moderate moisture of the soil and air.

Varieties

In the world there are more than 4000 varieties of asters, which are divided into 40 species. Among such a variety of asters, the one-year-old stands apart. It was separated into a separate species called kallistefus, which translates from ancient Greek as "a beautiful flower." The most popular varieties among them are:

• "Dragon" - a series, the distinctive feature of which are the petals of the flower. In the inflorescence they are tilted toward the center, while the outer ones are swirling. With a diameter of 10-12 cm this looks very impressive. The plant grows high "column" with 8-10 powerful stems. The flowers last long after the cut.
• The "Balun" series has large, up to 13 cm in diameter, spherical flowers with a large number of petals. Their conical shape prevents water from entering the middle, which prevents rotting. Grows with a bush of 6-8 stems.
• The series "Princess" is represented by women's names, for example, Veronica, Hilda, Alexandra and others. They have large (up to 12 cm) half-mahogany flowers with petals, twisted into thin tubes. In the bush there are 10-12 shoots.
• The series "Pompons" has the smallest (up to 5 cm) flowers, but abundantly covering the bush. Often there are two-colored species.

These varieties of annual asters are most common on flowerbeds of flower growers because of their beauty and unpretentiousness.

Cultivation of aster

Kallistefus Chinese can be sown directly to the garden when the frosts are already established, or in the spring, covering the shoots for safety. At home, they can be planted in seedlings. The seeds of this plant are so small and light, that on 1 g there are up to 450-500 pieces. Buying seed, you should pay attention to the expiration date, as the germination of asters is only 2 years.

When choosing flowers for a dacha, you should think in advance about the place for them. Asters prefer the sunny side with medium humidity of soil and air, although they can tolerate penumbra. The best primer for these flowers is fertile with neutral or slightly alkaline acidity.

A few days before planting seedlings soil should be fertilized with humus and wood ash. For large varieties, the distance between shrubs should be kept to 30 cm, for medium-sized dogs - 20 cm, and for small varieties it is sufficient to 10 cm.

Care for asters

Although in general, the aster of Chinese is unconcerned, to get a lush decorative shrubs it should be a little pooh.

• In droughty weather, it should be watered abundantly, avoiding stagnation of water.

• The first fertilizing, consisting of their complex of mineral fertilizers, should be carried out 2 weeks after planting, provided that the plant has taken root.
• Subsequent top dressings are performed during budding and flowering periods. You can use fertilizers that affect the brightness of the color and growth of the plant.
• High and lush bushes should be tied up.

These are all the requirements that the aster of China makes. Growing it does not cause trouble, but you can get a flower bed of beautiful and bright "stars" blossoming to the very frosts.

Reproduction

This kind of flowers multiplies only by seeds. Sowing them can be at home in pots, and in a greenhouse, and in the open ground.

After sowing, sprinkle with dry milled humus, pour and cover the seeds with a film. They rise on the fifth-tenth day, but until the first leaves appear, it is necessary to maintain the temperature to +20 degrees. After that, it should be reduced to +15, so that the plant develops well.

Transplant seedlings in the open ground in June, when the heat has already established, then the flowers will bloom in late July or August and last until the end of October. If you do this before, you should prepare for the fact that the flowering period will be reduced.

Diseases

The most common disease that can be affected by asters is fusariosis. Symptoms are manifested in plants during bud formation or flowering. There are no radical ways to combat this fungal disease, but you can avoid it by taking a number of preventive measures.

• First, these flowers can not be planted in the same place earlier than in 5 years of the break.
• Secondly, when preparing the soil, do not use fresh compost or manure, replacing them with humus.
• Third, it is better to treat the seeds with an antifungal solution before sowing.

• Fourth, do not plant plants close to each other so that they can be well ventilated.
• Fifth, make sure that the water does not stagnate around the root collar.

If a plant gets sick, it should be immediately removed and burned. In addition to fusariosis, asters can become "victims" of gray rot and powdery mildew, which will be saved by spraying with a foundation solution.

Pests

The main asthma pests are:

• Aphid aphid that affects the plant at the seedling stage, which has only 3-4 first leaves. It deforms the leaves and, as it were, twists them. Pest control is spraying with chlorophos, depis or carbophos before the flower has more than 4 leaves.
• From tobacco thrips and slugs rescue special preparations, for example, "Iskra" and metaldehyde.

If you carry out preventive work and make sure that asters do not have stagnant water in the soil, then in other respects these are the best flowers for a summer cottage. They are beautiful, long blooming and unpretentious.