Astra is an annual, or Chinese
Description and varieties. Astra is one-year, or Chinese, belongs to the family of Compositae and is an unusually beautiful decorative abundant and long-flowering plant. Astra is used to decorate flower beds, flower plants and other types of flower beds, and also grow for cutting. The ancestor of decorative types of terry and non-marvelous asters is the one-year-old aster from the family of astroids, from which all the cultural forms of the cultivated asters take place. In the wild form, the aster grows in Northern and Eastern China, Mongolia, Japan and the Far East. In culture about 4000 varieties of asters are known, which differ in:
form of the inflorescence;
coloring of reed and tubular flowers;
the height of the bush;
branching of the bush.
The height of the bush is distinguished by stunted asters( 15-25 cm) used for decorating curbs and edges of flower plants, medium ( 30-50 cm) and tall asters( 60-80 cm) that serve to decorateall kinds of flower beds and are grown for cutting. By the type of branching, it is possible to distinguish various forms of aster bush, the most common of which are the
oval, columnar, wide and pyramidal.The aster inflorescence is a basket up to 15 cm in diameter, consisting of reed, tubular and transitional flowers. Lingula flowers, also called false-lingual flowers, are in fact edge lobes and differ in different species of asters in length, color and shape. Female lingual flowers, they
have a different shape: spatula, ribbon, boat, tubular, lokonovidnuyu, located along the edge of the inflorescence in 1 row in non-matched and in several rows in semi-double inflorescences. In terry species of asters, the disc of tubular flowers is completely covered with ligulate flowers. Tubular flowers are bisexual with intergrown petals, often yellow in color, form a different size disk in the center of the inflorescence. However, tubular flowers can be painted in the same way as reed flowers, in this case the inflorescence acquires a very decorative appearance. Such a combination is often found in the transitional or hemispherical form of the inflorescence. Transitional flowers have an overgrown corolla, often colored like reed.
Depending on what flowers - tubular or reed - make up the decorative effect of the inflorescence, asters divide into 3 large class: tubular, reed and transitional. In transitional decorative and reed, and tubular flowers. Each class includes a number of sortotypes, which differ in the structure of the inflorescences.
Among the most common types of structure of the inflorescences of annual asters can be named the following: simple, pion-like, horn-shaped, ray, pompon, ostrich, coronet and cristae. The shape of the inflorescence can be flat, hemispherical and spherical.
Various types asters are characterized by a diverse structure of inflorescences and combine varieties in color. There are more than 600 varieties of asters. Sortotypes of asters are distinguished by the type of structure of the inflorescence, height and shape of the plant, and also by the period of flowering. At the beginning of flowering, asters divide into
. Simple form of inflorescence( Margarita varietal)
Horny form of inflorescence( Dyoushes sortotype, Rosy)
7 groups, from very early ones, blooming 95 or fewer days after sowing, until very late - 126 or more days.
Assorted asters
Asters have a rich spectrum of colors from yellow, white and cream to red and intense violet. In the color palette of asters there is only pure orange color. Inflorescences can have complex coloring, created by reed-colored flowers of different colors, or even a contrasting yellow or white center and a red or purple corolla
White and cream - Iceberg, Isadora and Polessye Star ( Assorted Art), White ball Pompons), Cloudlet ( Princess), Anniversary White ( Radio).
| Plant variety | Plant description / Flowering | Flowering time | Note |
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| American | A branchy, sprawling form, up to 70 cm high. | August | Used mainly by |
| beauty | Flower stems are long, the inflorescences on their apex are light in almost spherical shape, similar to pion-shaped, 10-12 cm in diameter, loose with narrow navicular reed-shaped flowers, directed upwards and inwards. Color varied. Medium early flowering | for cutting | |
| American | Threaded spreading form, up to 1 m, proch- | End | One of the best groups to |
| bush | nye, gustooblistvennye. Flower-bearing stems of length- | July- | cutoffs of |
| , 60-70 cm, dense. Inflorescences elegant, hemispherical pion-shaped, large, 10-12 cm in diameter;ligulate flowers broad, navicular, bent inside;in the center they are twisted spirally, which gives the inflorescence a particularly decorative appearance. Color varied. Flowering and early average | August | ||
| Bouquet | branched, compact columnar shape, | August | Advantageously for |
| -. | durable, up to 80 cm Inflorescence dense hemispherical shape, structure resemble Princess. The ligulate flowers are wide and short, in several rows located along the edge of the inflorescence, the ends and edges of the flowers are slightly bent downward. The central disk consists of large tubular flowers and has a dense structure. After blossoming, the color of the tubular flowers is aligned with the color of the reed. Flowering srednepozdnih | cutting | |
| Victoria | Branched, sredneoblistvennye, columnar | Starting | in flower beds and for cutting |
| forms, up to 60 cm in height, stalks thick and sturdy. Inflorescences are terry, tawny, convex from the center, up to 10 cm in diameter. Ligulate flowers are short and broad, shaped like a spatula, slightly bent outward. Flowers are densely located inside the inflorescence. Flowering is mid August |
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| Dushes | slightly branched, 4-6 first order stems | End | for cutting, at least - for |
| columnar shape, height and 80 cm, with strong flowering stalks of length 40 to 50 cm on each spike to 6 inflorescences..Inflorescences of the rosaceous type 10-12 cm in diameter with wide short ligulate flowers pointing upward, and bent toward the center. Flowering mid-term | August | planting in flower gardens | |
| Needle | Strong, columnar shape, up to 60 cm in height; | End | For cutting and decorating |
| , the stems are medium-sized, peduncles fairly strong. Inflorescences flat, terry, needle-shaped. Ligulate flowers are long, thin, like needles. This structure is explained by the fact that the ligulate flowers have grown along the length in a peculiar hollow tube, directed from the edges of the inflorescence towards the center, where they curl inwards, forming a "claw" at the ends. The tongue flowers completely cover the disc of tubular flowers. Inflorescences reach 10 cm in diameter, very elegant and ornamental. Flowering early | July | flower beds | |
| California- | Wide, more powerful, up to 1 m | End | Basically for cutting |
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| in height. Flower-bearing stems strong, length | July- | |
| gigantic | up to 70 cm. Inflorescence type "ostrich feather", diameter up to 15 cm. Tongue flowers narrow, ribs bent nyagptzhu and lokonobazno | August |
| Plant variety | Plant description / Flowering | Flowering time | Note |
| is curled at the ends. Color varied. Early and mid-early flowering | |||
| Dwarfish | reach a height of not more than 30 cm. Wide, | For the decoration of the border- | |
| spreading bushes. Inflorescences in different varieties of | moats, flower plants and | ||
| are very diverse in shape and size. Among the | are the edges of the flower beds. The most | ||
| them are quite large and small, | popular varieties: Kohler, | ||
| terry, semi-double and, more rarely, simple, | Pepito, Gloriette, Kohler | ||
| very different colors. Bloom abundantly. | Capit, Pinocchio, Milady, | ||
| Flowering early | Minifact Royal | ||
| Queen | Branched, spreading, medium-sized, | End | For decoration of the |
| color market | up to 50 cm high. Peduncles not very long, thin, but strong. Inflorescences such as the "ostrich feather", reed flowers of various colors are arranged in several rows along the inflorescence, ribbon-like, at the ends form curls. Inflorescences up to 12-14 cm in diameter, very decorative. Flowering early | July | and cut-off |
| Bushy | Branched, columnar-shaped, flowering | With mid- | Cutting, cut |
| stems of different lengths, directed from the base | you August | flowers are very durable, | |
| bush up. They reach a height of 60 cm. Numerous | are also used in | ||
| . Inflorescence inflorescences, up to 7-8 cm in diameter. | design of flower gardens | ||
| The tongue flowers are narrow, often located and densely inside the inflorescence, they are slightly curved upwards and inwards. The center of the inflorescence is yellow short tubular flowers. Inflorescences of the inflorescences are diverse. Flowering mid-term | |||
| Madeleine | Branched, spreading forms, up to 80 cm in height; | Beginning of | For the decoration of flower gardens |
| peduncles are long, sturdy. Inflorescences fairly large, up to 12 cm in diameter, semi-double, flat. Ligulate flowers of medium length, fairly wide, arranged in 2-3 rows along the edge of the inflorescence. In the center of the inflorescence is a disk of yellow tubular flowers densely located to each other. Flowering early in the day | August | and cut-off | |
| Margarita | A wide-shaped bush, 65-80 cm high. Inflorescences | End | For decoration of the color- |
| simple, up to 10 cm in diameter, flat, with 1 - 3 | July- | and for cutting | |
| with rows of differently colored reed flowersedge and disc of yellow tubular flowers in the center. Early and average flowering | August | ||
| Pion-shaped | Column-shaped, up to 50 cm in height, | From the beginning of | For cutting and decorating |
| ( Giant | branched from the base, stalks are stiff, | to the end | of flower plants |
| pion-shaped) | peduncles high30-40 cm);inflorescence terry with a diameter of 9-10 cm, hemispherical pion shaped. The ligulate flowers are navicular, short and broad from the base to the tip, located very tightly inside the inflorescence, directed uniformly upward and slightly bent toward the center. The outer ligulate flowers, growing along the edge of the inflorescence, are somewhat longer and wider than the inner ones, as if wrapping the whole mass of petals in the inflorescence, giving the flower a completed form. Coloring diverse Bloom from mid-to-late | August | |
| Pomponic | Branchy, 60 cm high, inflorescence flattened, up to 6 cm in diameter;the ligulate flowers are short and wide, located along the edge in 2 - 3 rows;the whole center is occupied by tubular flowers, painted like reed and located | For casing and for cutting |
| Plant variety | Plant description / Flowering very dense. Coloring diverse, there are two-color red, blue and lilac with a white center. Flowering early and early in the morning | Flowering time |
Note |
| Princess | Sturdy, wide spreading shape, height | August | To sortotype Princess |
| 50-80 cm Inflorescence crown, hemispherical | September | are such | |
| form groups, consisting of several rowsshort | aster, like Ramona, Erfor- | ||
| wide reed flowers with bent down | for, Pauderpup, prince- | ||
| edges located along the edge of the inflorescence, and long | cess Risen, Prinov, | ||
| of major trubchatyh, which as the dissolution | differing in | ||
| acquire the color of reed. Flowering medium-late and later | flowering time | ||
| Radio | Medium-bridged, columnar-shaped, up to- | End | For the design of the colour- |
| stably stable and powerful. It reaches 60 cm | in July - | and on cutting | |
| in height;peduncles of medium length, strong. | top | ||
| Inflorescences are terry, dense, hemispherical beam shape, up to 14 cm in diameter. Tongue flowers are twisted in length into a tube, in the center they bend inwards, forming a dense cushion and completely closing the disc of tubular flowers. Flowering medium-early | August | ||
| Riviera | Medium-bridged, compact-compressed column | August | Good for cutting and for |
| shaped, strong, 50-60 cm high. Inflorescences are terry, dense, up to 14 cm in diameter, type of ray, hemispherical shape. Ligula flowers partially fused, twisted along the length into tubes. Color varied. Flowering average | planting in a flower garden | ||
| Rosy | Lush branched hemispherical shape, | End | For the decoration of all |
| s up to 60 cm high;flower stems strong. Inflorescences are terry, hemispherical, fairly large, up to 10 cm in diameter. Ligula flowers of different color of medium length, wide, densely located inside the inflorescence and directed upwards. The name is explained by the external similarity of the inflorescence with the flower of roses. Flowering early | July | species of flower beds | |
| Strausovo | Narrow, sprawling, up to 70 cm high, | End | For cutting, less often for |
| pen | inflorescence diameter 12-13 cm, reed flowers | July - | flower beds |
| long, up to 5-7 cm, ribbons, curlson the | the beginning of the | ||
| ends downwards. Because of the length of the ligulate flowers and some friability, the inflorescence can lose decorativeness in the rain. Coloring all kinds. Flowering mid-early | August | ||
| Unicum | Semi-spherical shape, up to 60 cm high, | End | For branching |
| branched;flower stems long | July - | ||
| and fragile with drooping inflorescences | diameter beginning | ||
| 12 cm. Inflorescences ray, very elegant, special lightness is given to long( up to 7 cm) reed flowers, folded in length into a tube. Colorings are various. Flowering mid-early | August | ||
| Chrysanthemum- | Slightly spreading, compact, strong, to | End | Primarily for |
| prominent | 70 cm in height, peduncles long and sturdy. Inflorescences needles, very elegant and large, resemble a chrysanthemum in structure. Tongue flowers are folded along into thin tube-needles, 5-7 cm long, grow from the edge of the inflorescence towards the center, at the center they curl, closing the disc with yellow tubular flowers. Flowering medium late | August | cuts |
Red -Assol and Hav Ruby, Floret ( Artistic), Galina, Crimson ball, Octyabrina ( Pomponic), Oksana, Opalfoyer to Moldovan ruby ( Pion-shaped), Katyusha and Khava silvery ( Princess), Ruby stars, Torch ( Ration), Feuerkugel ( Dwarfish).
Blue - Gift ( Peony), Blue Lake, Zipberberyer ( Artistic), Blue ( Radio).
Lilac - Silver Turm ( Pioneer), La-board ( Pompon).
Yellow - Memory, Goldstrasse ( Artistic), Princess Hilda ( Princess).
Pink - Smile ( Radio), Princess Davina, Nat, Maria Bieshu ( Princess), Morning haze, Harz Grush and Naina ( Fiction), Festive and Nina , Yablun-Neva, Youth, Spherical, Silvery-pink, Rose Turm ( Pion-shaped), Hava silvery ( Princess).
Purple - Southern night ( Pion-shaped), Lilac evening ( Pomponic), Suliko ( Princess).
Characteristics of some sortotils aster
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| Plant description / Flowering | Flowering time |
Note |
| Artistic- | Wide, semi-dense, sturdy, i | Mid | Cutting |
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| up to 80 cm high, flower stems strong, | August - | |
| long60 cm. Inflorescences of the radial type, convex, i up to 15 cm in diameter. The tongue flowers are narrow, ribboned, twisted at the ends and bent toward the center, so that the disc of yellow tubular flowers is completely closed. Color white, yellow, pink, blue. Flowering medium and later | : September | ||
| Spherical | High, branched, spreading forms, | Cutting and for clearance | |
| reach 80 cm in height. Flower-bearing stems are medium-sized, long and durable. Inflorescence large, up to 14 cm in diameter, spherical. Tongue flowers are long( 5-6 cm), wide, densely located in the inflorescence, slightly bent towards its center and pointing straight up. Colorings are various. Flowering average | of flower beds |
Asters are light-loving and cold-resistant, these are typical plants of a long day with a long vegetation period( up to 6 months), they carry frosts up to -3 ° С.Bloom 3-4 months after sowing. The inflorescence is laid in the phase of the 4-6th leaf. Blooming of double flower inflorescences lasts up to 30 days, non-first flowers bloom faster. Flowering plants of different varieties last from 40 to 50, some varieties over 50 days.
Cultivation, breeding and care. Asters reproduce only seeds. Under normal storage conditions, the seeds retain their germination capacity for 2 years, the third germination and germination energy deteriorates sharply. Seeds of asters are obtained from the fetus.
The fruit of the asters is a narrow or broadly curious seed, the mass of 1000 pieces of seeds is 2-3.5 g.
Seeds mature within 35-40 days after the onset of flowering inflorescences( in nonmachine forms before).Indicator of ripeness is a characteristic fluff on the surface of the basket. Good yields of high quality seeds are obtained in dry and warm weather( daytime temperature of 20 ° C) during flowering. The baskets are collected by hand selectively as they mature and are dried, spreading thinly on paper, cloth or in small boxes.
Female verruca flowers of asters are pollinated by insects. Dense terry inflorescences, formed by reeds, are pollinated by insects with difficulty and give little seeds.
Asters are relatively undemanding to soils, but grow better on easy- and medium-loamy-nasty ones.
| Pion-shaped | inflorescence shape( |
| sortotypes) American |
Tortillate form of inflorescence( Victoria sortotype)
Asters can be grown by sowing seeds in open ground or in seedlings. For the cultivation of seedlings, sowing is carried out in the second half of March - early April in boxes. For this, seeds are etched in a disinfecting 1% solution of manganese for 20 minutes, then washed and dried. Seeds are sown at a rate of 6 g / m2, with a sparse seeding( 1 g / m2), the picking phase can be avoided. The land mixture for crops and pickings aster should be fresh, not used before for the cultivation of other plants, poor humus, light in texture, with a high content of sand, which is good for water. Top poured calcined river sand 1-2 cm layer. Seeds are covered with a layer of 5 mm of the same sand. At a temperature of 18-20 ° C shoots appear on the 5th-7th day.
Recommended composition of soil mixture for asters: turfy ground, large river sand and peat in a ratio of 3: 1: 1 with the addition of lime until the soil is completely neutralized.
Seedlings are grown at a temperature of 12-15 ° C, sparse, abundant watering in the morning and regular prolonged airing. In May, watering begins to combine with fertilizing with mineral fertilizers in easily soluble forms, the ratio of nitrogen: phosphorus: potassium should be 1: 2: 2.Potassium fertilizers containing chlorine are not used for asters. Seedlings of the aster are dived in the first present phase after the cotyledonous leaf, the seedlings can be slightly buried, but do not cover the cotyledons. Picks are made at a distance of 5 cm between the plants and 5 cm between the
. The shape of the inflorescence of the "ostrich pen"( Strausovo feather, Californian Giant),
in rows. The sprouted seedlings are planted in the second half of May after the last frost. Sufficient age of seedling is 6 weeks.
The site of cultivation of asters is prepared from autumn. The soil is digested, limy, superphosphate and potassium sulfate are added in total 50-80 g / m2( doses of phosphorus and potassium are equal).Organic fertilizers are introduced 2-3 years before planting asters under the previous crops. Asters do not tolerate freshly applied organic fertilizers. An exception is compost, which is embedded in the soil at a rate of 6-8 kg / m2.The site for asters should be well lit, the soil - drained, light, rich enough, but without freshly dung. Asters grow better and suffer less fusariosis on lands with a neutral or even slightly alkaline reaction( pH 7.0-8.0).
Hemispherical, Transitional form of inflorescence( variety Princess, Bouquet)
Radiate shape of inflorescence( variety of Riviera, Radio, Artistic, Unicum)
It is also possible podzimnius sowing asters. At the end of October, shortly before frosts, seeds are planted in prepared beds, covered with garden soil and abundantly mulched with peat, sawdust and other organic materials. In the beginning or mid-April, depending on the weather, after melting snow, crops are opened. Seedlings will appear at the end of April already seasoned and, since the aster is a cold-resistant culture, frosts to plants are not terrible. However, it should be borne in mind that the seeds of the sub-winter planting are not ripening.
Before the introduction of asters in the flowering phase, it is necessary to fertilize mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a ratio of 1: 2: 2.The intensity of fertilizer application is 50 g / m2.Since the appearance of buds on plants fertilizing with mineral fertilizers should be stopped. In general, care for plants aster is in timely watering, fertilizing, weeding and loosening. When loosening, it should be remembered that the root system of the asters is superficially located and can easily be damaged.
In the top dressing application of a weak solution of slurry, mullein or bird droppings. The introduction of fertilizers must be accompanied by watering. The alternation of liquid fertilizing with water with composting water works perfectly, which contributes to the powerful growth and lush flowering of plants, but somewhat weakens their resistance to diseases.
In the middle band, asters can be sown directly into the ground with subsequent thinning. Terms of sowing are the earliest. Astra is a plant of a long day, so the flowering of plants planted later begins almost at the same time as early sown plants. But with early plantings, plants are higher, they form a larger number of inflorescences and bloom more abundantly and luxuriantly.
For flower decoration plants are planted in groups of 3-7 pieces or more, or in rows at workplaces. Tall asters fit well with curb low, if varieties with contrasting stains of inflorescences are selected. For cutting, asters can be grown on ridges.
To obtain asters with especially large inflorescences on sturdy peduncles, remove all shoots of the second order as they appear. Blossoming of some groups of asters can be significantly approximated( end of June) if planted on seedlings in early-mid-February, provide them with sufficient lighting throughout the development period and maintain the air temperature no higher than 10-13 ° C.Inflorescences of asters do not dissolve in water. Therefore, they are cut completely bloomed on the 1-2-day bloom in the morning. If asters are cut off in time, they stay in the water for a long time, without losing freshness. Before you put flowers in the water, the stems of asters need to be cut and cut off the lower leaves from the stem. Asters can stand in water for more than 2 weeks, water should be changed at least once in 3 days.
Diseases and pests. Fusarium wilt asters most often affects this flower culture. Prevention of this disease can be liming the soil in order to reduce the acid reaction of the soil to neutral or even alkaline. Additional fertilization of plants with microelements also increases the resistance of asters to fusariosis. A positive effect in the fight against fusariosis is spraying of the leaves with apricot 0,05% solution of potassium permanganate, boric acid, zinc sulphate or copper. It is also recommended to disinfect the seeds of asters with the same solutions for at least 5 hours. Asters also affect the brown rot of roots and root neck, late blight or rot of the stem base, spotting and rust of leaves, chrysanthemum nematode, various species of aphids, spider mites and onion bugs, slugs.
Asters can not be grown for several consecutive years in one place. Planting asters in their original place is recommended not earlier than in 5 years.