A lot of people love and respect an astrological one-year old . This flower densely settled on our plots and vegetable gardens, and the September bouquets of asters have long become familiar attributes of first-graders. The flowers of the asters are so rich in their colors that the eyes are scattered, and we are silent about the variety of forms.
Asters, as well as all other flowers, have their own peculiarities in cultivation, with which we suggest that you now get acquainted, so that landing your asters in the open ground was as successful as possible.
Cultivation of aster
Asters reproduce only seeds, so you can grow them in two ways: seedlings or immediately sowing an aster in the open ground.
Growing sprouts aster
Sowing aster for seedlings must begin in late March - early April. Asters are very unpretentious to the land in which they will grow, but preference is given to fresh, untapped, poor humus, but well drained soil. The optimal option for growing seedlings of an astra will be such a mixture:
- 3 parts of sod land;
- 1 part of river sand;
- on 1 bucket of this mixture, you need to add 2 tablespoons of wood ash.
We mix the mixed soil in a container, and from the top with a thickness of 1 cm we shed with calcined river sand. After a little moisturizing and you can proceed to planting the seeds, which are then covered with a 5 mm layer of the same calcined sand. Approximately 5-7 days after planting, the first shoots will appear, until this point the temperature in the room should be maintained at about 18-20 ° C. After you notice the first green sprouts, the temperature will need to be lowered to 13-15 ° C.
Sprinkle seedlings of asters should be rare, only when the soil dries. Do not forget that after water procedures, young shoots must necessarily be ventilated. In early May, it will be possible to feed the astra with any fertilizer suitable for it. The asters can be planted in the open ground at the end of May. At the same time the first time you need to take care of the night heat, which can be achieved by ordinary shelter.
Spring sowing aster in the ground
If you are not going to grow seedlings, then prepare to plant in the fall. So, we sow the asters in the open ground. For this it will be necessary to prepare in advance for flowers a ridge or a flower bed. In spring the seeds can be sown in late April - early May. But, of course, it is necessary to use a double layer of covering material, which can be removed only on warm, windless days.
Autumn sowing aster
One of the popular ways to grow asters in the open field is the way of sowing for the winter. For this in October:
- we make a bed, fertilize it with humus and peat;
- we level the earth and compact it;
- across the entire space, draw a groove depth of not more than 2 cm;
- cover with one layer of covering material and leave it until November.
When in November the soil will be sufficiently frozen, we proceed to plant the seeds in a prepared place:
- in the frozen grooves we sow the dry seeds of asters;
- from above, sprinkle dry soil with a layer of 2 cm;
- tightly, pressing on each side, we cover the bed with polyethylene and leave it until spring.
At the end of April, when the snow already does not smell, you can remove the film and replace it with standard covering material, which can be
The described autumn method allows to receive flowers much earlier, and thus they will be stronger and more stable.
Top-dressing aster in the open ground
To get beautiful flowers, you must without fail carry out the additional fertilizing of asters. The first time you need to do this before the first buds appear. Means for fertilizing choose from the range presented in your store. The second top dressing will be required during the appearance of the very first flowers. The solution can be used the same.