Alpine aster: the best varieties, planting and care tips

HomeAll flowers that start with AAlpine aster: the best varieties, planting and care tips

Alpine aster is a member of the Compositae family. In another way, it is called “false” and “Korzhinsky”. It is a perennial ground cover, very often decorating flower beds. Gardeners appreciate this plant for its bright long flowering, resistance to adverse conditions, and ease of care. This culture tolerates frosts, is able to do without moisture for a long time. Variegated flowers will help create a beautiful composition in a flower bed, revive empty areas of the garden.

Description

According to the botanical description, alpine aster is a herbaceous plant with straight, smooth or fleecy (depending on the variety) stems, reaching from 20 to 40 cm. It has a horizontally branching rhizome. The bush grows up to half a meter in width. The stems are covered with sessile spatulate or oval leaves with a short light pile. Foliage color is dark green.

Flowers are single baskets with a diameter of 4 to 7 cm. The color of the inflorescences can be very different: red, lilac, purple, blue, cream, orange and others. The central part of the flower is bright yellow. The petals are thin, arranged in one row. One basket develops on each stem. Alpine aster flowers look like chamomile, but are larger in size.

Some varieties bloom from early May for a month. Flowering of other varieties can be observed from July to August and from September to October. Thanks to the variety of varieties of early, medium or late term, you can plant each of them in the garden and get continuous flowering from spring to mid-autumn.

At the end of flowering, petalless baskets with seeds and a fleecy tuft remain on the plant. Seeds fall to the ground, which causes abundant self-seeding. The seed material of this culture retains the varietal characteristics of the mother plant.

The photo below shows the perennial alpine aster, where its characteristic differences are visible and how it looks in the flower garden is shown:

Varieties

To date, a large number of varieties of the Alpine aster flower have been bred, differing in the color of the petals, the size of the baskets, and the timing of flowering. The most requested ones are listed below.

“White Alps” – a spectacular variety, which is a bush 20 – 30 cm high with straight stems and ovoid rich green foliage. Flowers are snow-white baskets with a diameter of 7 cm.

“Albus” – a bush about 20 cm high. It has flowers – baskets with numerous white petals. The central part is rich yellow. Flowering begins in May, lasts until July.

“Blue” – one of the most common varieties with blue flowers. The central part is lush yellow. The diameter of the basket can be 9 cm. The stems reach 50 cm. This variety is characterized by long flowering, frost resistance.

“Rose” – the bush grows up to 35 – 40 cm, while it quickly grows in width, occupying an area of up to half a meter. It has pink baskets with a yellow core. The diameter of the flower does not exceed 5 cm. Flowering begins in late spring.

“Blue” – a variety of alpine aster, which is found more often than others in the flower beds of domestic gardeners. It is distinguished by blue-colored baskets, 7 cm in diameter. It is a low-growing variety, whose height is 15 cm. It tolerates winter well, blooms for a long time, requiring a minimum of care.

“Happy End” is an early flowering variety that begins to form buds in late April – early May. The height of the bush reaches 25 – 30 cm. The flowers are light pink.

“Goliath” – is characterized by rapid growth. In a short time, the plant is able to occupy an area with a diameter of 50 cm. The height of the bush is 25 cm. Baskets are dark and light lilac, less often pink. Flowering lasts from the beginning of summer for 4 weeks.

“Violetta” is one of the most expressive varieties of alpine aster. Differs in inflorescences of a saturated violet color. The flowers may also be blue. Flowering lasts for 1.5 months from May to mid-July.

“Illyria” is a perennial variegated variety with buds of bright pink, purple, lilac, white color. Valued for bright and long flowering, during which the bush is densely covered with large baskets.

“Glory” – a variety of alpine aster with baskets consisting of narrow long blue petals and a bright yellow center. The diameter of the inflorescences is 4 – 5 cm.

‘Dunkle Schone’ is a popular 18 cm shrub covered with semi-double blue baskets. The plant is frost-resistant, perennial. Able to grow and form buds in partial shade.

“Ruber” – is valued for spectacular ruby \u200b\u200bbaskets with a diameter of 5 cm. It is planted in single plantings, as well as in combination with white and blue varieties.

“Superbus” – a plant up to 20 cm high, covered with lilac-blue baskets during flowering.

Reproduction

Most often, this crop is propagated with the help of seed, since this method has proven its effectiveness, allowing you to get strong healthy plants that have retained the varietal characteristics of the mother specimen. In regions with a mild climate, the cultivation of alpine aster seeds can be done immediately in open ground after the snow has melted and the earth has warmed up. It is also possible to plant seeds before winter.

Seeds without deepening are scattered on the ground in the area designated for this and prepared in advance. Sprinkle a thin layer of sand or soil on top. The grown plants are transplanted to a permanent place in the garden.

In mid-latitudes, it is more expedient to grow seedlings, and then transplant hardened seedlings to the site. For sowing, they take small containers, fill them with ready-made soil mixture for seedlings, or with a substrate consisting of equal parts of leaf and sod land, river sand and peat.

The seed is distributed over the surface of the soil, sprinkled with a layer of earth, moistened from the sprayer. Cleaned in a semi-shaded place with an air temperature of 19 – 25 degrees. Sprouts will appear in 1.5 weeks. After they have formed a third leaf, they are transplanted into separate pots and transferred to a well-lit window sill.

With a lack of light, the seedlings will begin to stretch. Before transplanting into open ground, young plants are recommended to be hardened, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors from 1 hour to 24 hours.

After the soil warms up and the seedlings harden, you can transplant them to a permanent place in the garden. It is worth considering that alpine aster, grown from seeds, will bloom only next year.

The division of the bush

Another way to get alpine aster is to divide a perennial bush into parts. This work is combined with transplanting the plant to a new location. It is required 1 time in 4 – 5 years, when the soil is depleted, losing its supply of nutrients. The division can be carried out from April to September.

To get seedlings, a bush that has reached at least 3 years of age is carefully dug out, trying not to damage the root system. After being removed from the ground, they are divided into several parts so that each of them has healthy roots and stems. Delenki are immediately planted in the holes in a permanent place.

Landing

Before planting seedlings on the site, you should prepare it, that is, dig it up, remove weeds. If the soil is acidic, lime or dolomite flour must be added. Enrich poor areas with fertilizers using superphosphate for this.

For young plants, small holes are made at a distance of 20 cm. After planting seedlings of alpine perennial aster, I take care of them, that is, they mulch the area around to minimize watering, loosening and weed removal work, and water regularly.

Care

The alpine aster plant blooms and retains its decorative effect for five or more years. But for this you need to carry out systematic care for him. The basic rules for breeding this flower are given below.

  • Location. A feature of the plant is its ability to bloom even in shaded areas, so it can be planted anywhere in the garden. It is not recommended to plant a flower in places where direct sunlight will fall on it, which will cause burns of foliage and baskets.
  • Watering. Since asters are moisture-loving, they need to be watered abundantly, but without allowing moisture to accumulate in the soil. This can cause root rot or the development of certain diseases. It is necessary to let the earth dry out before starting water procedures.
  • Topdressing. Fertilization is an integral part of the care of this crop. Regular feeding is especially important for perennial specimens. They stimulate abundant flowering, contribute to the active formation of foliage in the plant and its decorative effect. Fertilizer must be applied three times per season. The first top dressing is applied before the growing season, using a mineral solution for garden flowers, the second – during the formation of buds, using a solution containing potassium and superphosphate, the third is added during flowering, enriching the soil with the same composition as the second time.
  • Preparing for the winter. Perennial varieties of asters in alpine autumn are preparing for the cold season. At the end of flowering, dried stems are cut off, inflorescences are removed. Plants are covered with dry foliage, covered with dense material on top. With the onset of spring, after the snow melts, the shelter is removed. If you remove it before the snow melts, there will be an excess of moisture in the soil, which will negatively affect the condition of the roots in the future.

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