Callistephus, Callistephus (Calistephus), Aster annual. Annual herbaceous plant 25-90 cm high with large flowers, the color of which varies widely depending on the variety: white, pink, purple, blue, red. Blooms from July to late autumn.
Etymology
The name comes from Greek words callinos- “beautiful” and stephos- “wreath”, since the inflorescences resemble a wreath in their structure.
Types and varieties of annual aster
There is only one species in the genus - annual aster, or Chinese callistephus (Callistephus chinensis), growing wildly in the northern regions of Korea, Manchuria and China, occasionally found in Russia in Primorye.
Annual aster, or Chinese callistephus (Callistephus chinensis)
From the middle of the 19th century. and to this day - one of the most popular flyers. In nature, the species is on the verge of extinction.
There are a huge variety of varieties; according to some sources, more than 4,000 of them have been created in the world; about 300 are used in floriculture. Breeders are constantly working on creating new products. Domestic breeders have bred more than 100 varieties of aster.
Unfortunately, seeds of Russian asters are currently on sale less often than imported ones. However, Russian varieties They grow better and are more resistant to diseases; in addition, domestic asters bloom in more early dates and manage to fully demonstrate all their decorative qualities before the onset of autumn frosts.
An annual herbaceous plant 25-90 cm high with a powerful, fibrous root system. The stems are green, sometimes reddish, hard, erect, simple or branched. The leaves are located in next order, lower ones on petioles, broadly oval or oval-rhombic, unequally coarsely toothed, serrated or crenate along the edges; the upper ones are sessile. The inflorescence is a basket consisting of reed and tubular flowers. The color of the inflorescences varies widely depending on the variety: white, pink, purple, bluish-lilac, red. Blooms from July to late autumn.
Classification of annual asters
By height: dwarf (up to 25 cm), short (up to 35 cm), medium tall (up to 60 cm), tall (up to 80 cm) and giant (above 100 cm);
By flowering time: early (bloom from early-mid July to September), middle (bloom from late July-early August to October), late (bloom from mid-late August until frost);
By nature of use: cut flowers (large flowers, on long, strong peduncles), casing (compact bushes with a large number both long-blooming flowers) and universal (compact bushes average size with strong peduncles, varieties are good for cutting as a bush, they also look wonderful in a flower garden).
Varieties of annual asters:
The Lady Coral series is a spectacular variety series of cut aster of our selection. Plants 60-70 cm high with large double flowers. A special feature of the series is the exceptional density of bright, contrasting inflorescences
Series Dragon- plants form a typical pyramidal bush 60-70 cm high, flowers up to 12 cm in diameter;
Series Starfish- a type of radiant aster of German selection in 2004. The varieties of this series are characterized by spectacular two-color colors of the inflorescences. The plant is large, 60-70 cm high, with large inflorescences (12-16 cm). The variety series has 5 colors;
Series Old castle- pyramidal bush 60-70 cm high with flowers up to 8-10 cm in diameter
Series Ribbon- aster of English selection. Each petal is two-colored, with a bright longitudinal stripe. Plants are compact, 35-40 cm tall, with large spherical inflorescences;
Series Rose of Shanghai- cutting aster 60-80 cm high. Forms double two-color inflorescences.
Caring for annual aster
Aster is light-loving; it prefers open, sunny places, but can also tolerate partial shade. Grows better on light, fertile soils acidic soils with a large amount of organic matter, but the aster should not be fed with manure. In dry weather, the plant is watered; it does not like drought or excess moisture. They feed mineral fertilizers the first time 2 weeks after landing in open ground, the second time - during the budding period.
Reproduction of annual asters
Propagated by seeds. Sowing can be done immediately permanent place in autumn or spring. Can be grown through seedlings. Young plants are planted in the ground in mid-May. At the same time, you need to remember that every year the place for the asters is changed, and it is returned to its old place no earlier than after 4-5 years.
Little secrets of growing asters
- For sowing in open ground, use only seeds from a new harvest; for growing seedlings, use seeds no older than 2 years. Quality seeds no “pre-sowing” preparation is needed; to do this, opt for seeds from proven companies.
- Asters seedlings must be planted on time, the distance between plants must be at least 20 cm.
Aster seedlings of the Stary Zamok variety series
Second half of summer and autumn. Valued for their exceptional durability when cut. In ordinary room conditions keep in water for 2-3 weeks.
Asters are propagated by sowing seeds in the ground and.
Seeds when stored indoors lose their viability after 2 years. When stored in the refrigerator, their viability increases significantly.
To improve the health of the seeds, they are immersed for 30 minutes in a three-day infusion of seeds (1 tablespoon per 100 ml of water). Spraying with this infusion protects them from diseases.
For cultivation, seeds are sown in early March. Mass shoots appear on the 6-7th day. The most favorable temperature for germination is +18...20°C, and for normal growth of seedlings +15...16°C is sufficient. Planted in the ground at the end of April-May. In flower beds, the distance between plants is 15-25 cm, depending on the variety (low-growing border varieties are planted more densely).
Can be sown in the ground before winter, as well as early spring to the area prepared in the fall. Manure is not applied to asters, but a sufficient amount of mineral fertilizer is given (up to 80 g per 1 m2 of flower garden).
Caring for plants consists of watering, loosening, weeding, pest and disease control.
Light-loving plant. It is undemanding to soil, but grows better on chernozem or sandy and loamy soils.
In hot and dry weather, the number of inflorescences decreases and the number of seeds set decreases.
Asters tolerate light spring and autumn frosts well (-4...-5°C). Flowering occurs 3.5-4 months after sowing and continues until severe frosts.
A single inflorescence blooms for 20-40 days. The seeds ripen 35-40 days after the start of flowering. There are 300-500 of them in 1 g.
Asters are cross-pollinated plants, so to maintain variety, spatial isolation is necessary, at least 5-10 m.
Variety of colors and shapes of inflorescences, different height and the shape of the bush allow asters to be widely used in flower decoration of garden, country and personal plots, and also grown as a potted and cut crop.
According to plant height, asters are distinguished between high (50-75 cm), semi-high (30-50 cm) and low (15-20 cm); in shape - columnar, weakly branched - shoots of the first order are directed upward at an acute angle (20-25°), spreading - the angle of departure of shoots of the first order is 50-60°; bouquet - a highly branched bush with numerous flowering shoots second and third orders, the inflorescences on them bloom almost simultaneously, which gives the bush the shape of a bouquet; hemispherical - the height of the bush is less than the diameter.
In different groups, inflorescences vary in size from 3-4 to 15 cm. The shape is spherical, radiant, needle-shaped; according to the structure of flowers - peony-shaped, rose-shaped, chrysanthemum-shaped.
Among them there are varieties of a wide variety of colors - from white to dark red, from blue to dark purple.
Of the new varieties, the following are of greatest interest:
"Camelot" (white)
A new variety series of English selection with exceptional decorative qualities. Asters of this group form dense, low, about 25-30 cm, pyramidal-type bushes. The flowers have an original structure, very large, 12-14 cm in diameter. Plants form 10-14 flowers.
Unlike other large-flowered groups, “Camelot” looks great in flower beds and is not afraid of rain. Distinctive feature group "Camelot" is the versatility of using the cut, designing flower beds, balcony boxes, border casing.
"Bullfight" (carmine)
A new variety series of tall, up to 80 cm, large-flowered cut flowers. Asters of this group are also good for group plantings. Plants form up to 10-15 large flowers on strong peduncles. A distinctive feature is the exceptional quality of the huge inflorescences. Good stability to rain and cutting properties.
"Shanghai Rose" (blue)
Giant cut, intermediate in variety type between peony and “Princess”. Plant height is 60-80 cm. Forms double, bicolor inflorescences of extraordinary size and shape.
"Don Juan" (group "Matador")
Asters of the new Matador series, a unique, patent-protected selection of cut flowers. They have unusual shape, since parent forms are potentially various types- peony-shaped and " Princess", and exclusively large sizes flower (up to 18-20 cm in diameter). The plant is tall, powerful (80-100 cm), branching from below.
The buds are laid early, but the full development of the flower requires considerable time (up to three weeks). Plants are demanding to care for and show all their inherent qualities only under optimal conditions.
"Lady Coral White"
A fundamentally new, spectacular aster variety series. Powerful plants 60-70 cm high form many magnificent double flowers.
The flowers are large - 12-16 cm in diameter. Important Feature series - exceptional density of inflorescences, so large that they practically do not suffer from rain and can last for a very long time when cut. The purpose is universal - they look great in flower beds and are great in bouquets.
The series has no analogues among other groups and is presented on the world market for the first time.
"Old Castle"
It is a continuation of the selection of this variety. Annual work in the field of improvement of the “Old Castle” group has made it possible to obtain varieties with more stable properties than previous varieties in this series.
It was possible to radically improve the evenness of flowers, significantly increase the decorativeness of plants, and achieve a stable large-flowered group.
Asters group "Old Castle" form a typical pyramidal bush 60-70 cm high. The bush produces up to 10-12 strong peduncles with flowers up to 8-10 cm in diameter. The main purpose of the group is cutting; they are also good in group plantings.
"Russian size 1" (“Topaz”, “Pearl”, “Tourmaline”, “Aquamarine” and their mixture) - with the largest inflorescences among the needles. They bloom from mid-summer to late autumn.
Fusarium is a threat to aster. The disease will be significantly reduced if you plant among them. It is effective to grow them next to nasturtium and petunia against fusarium wilt.
Botanical characteristics, description of Chinese aster
Callistephus chinensis, translated - Aster chinensis, Callistephus chinensis, other names: Chinese aster, gaystra, holy aster, and also compostillion. This is an annual herbaceous representative of the plant kingdom. Its stem is straight, somewhat rough and slightly hairy. The leaves are ciliated, with the lower ones petiolate and coarsely toothed; middle ones are rhombic-oblong, jagged; the upper ones are entire, their shape is lanceolate.
At the top of the stem there is a corymbose inflorescence of a few heads; they are large and single. The marginal flowers are of the reed type; they can be blue, purple, and so on. The fruit is represented by a flattened wedge-shaped-obovate achene; the plant blooms from August to October inclusive.
This is a Chinese aster (photo)
Where does aster grow?
This representative of the flora is considered ornamental plant, it is happily cultivated by amateur gardeners in their dachas and garden plots. It is worth noting that in growing wild Callistephus chinensis is not very attractive, and it looks better when well-groomed.
Growing and care
This plant is considered light-loving, resistant to cool temperature, prefers to grow in open spaces, in sunny places, but can also bloom in semi-shaded areas.
The soil should be fairly light, fertile with neutral acidity. It is worth saying that it is not recommended to grow these flowers after carnations, gladioli, and tulips; they can be returned to their original location after about five years.
In the fall, compost or humus is added when digging the ground, and in the spring, superphosphate, ammonium sulfate are added, and potassium salt is also used. It is recommended to calculate the dosage of fertilizers based on agrochemical analysis of soil samples.
If the soil has been prepared correctly, with regular watering and fertilizing of the plant, in this case the flowers will bloom quite profusely almost until the very first frost.
Quite often, the Chinese aster is affected by fusarium, to prevent this disease, it is recommended to spray the plant prophylactically special solution, consisting of potassium permanganate, ammonium molybdic acid, sulfate salts of copper, magnesium, zinc, cobalt, as well as boric acid.
Reproduction is carried out by seeds; they retain their viability for three years. In this case, sowing can be done in open ground both in autumn and spring, and in addition, the Chinese aster can be planted in protected ground, approximately in mid-March.
In this case, you can sow seeds into the soil in a heated greenhouse directly under the film. In this case, the land is prepared a week before sowing, and required quantity humus and dig well, after which the surface of the earth is leveled with a rake, and then ridges are made, watering them with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
Then the soil is covered with a film and left for three days, after which you can see how the weeds sprout, they are completely removed, which allows you to subsequently grow the Chinese aster completely without weeds. On the day of direct sowing, the prepared soil is once again well loosened and compacted, and the seeds are sprinkled with earth, watered, and covered with cellophane, which is not removed until the first shoots appear.
Subsequently, the sprouted Chinese asters are watered warm water, this will prevent the occurrence of root rot. Then the seedlings are planted in a permanent place in previously prepared soil. It is worth noting that this representative of the flora can tolerate frosts down to -4 degrees.
Applications of Callistephus chinensis
Depending on the decorativeness of the inflorescences of the Chinese aster, it can be planted in group plantings, near borders, and these flowers are also recommended for decorating terraces; in addition, they can be grown on balconies.
As you know, the aster looks great when cut, it is beautiful in lush bouquets. Boutonnieres can be made from small-flowered varieties. Cut plants will retain their freshness for clean water up to two weeks. In this case, you should wash the stems and often change the water in the vase.
Of course, the aster is considered the queen autumn flower garden, dwarf-sized varieties are successfully planted, while low-growing plants look very impressive. You can use them to replace already faded spring bulbs. You can plant callistephus directly in flower beds in different times, because root system very branched, and it quickly recovers when transplanted.
Accordingly, you can replant already formed adult Callistephus chinensis plants, with formed buds or even already in bloom, in which case they will take root well and decorate any flower garden.
Conclusion
Be sure to plant it in your garden or on personal plot these are beautiful bright flowers, they will decorate any flower bed and lawn, delighting the owners with their appearance, and besides, they are considered quite unpretentious and frost-resistant plants.
When growing aster seedling method in protected ground, seeds are sown in seed boxes filled with a 3:1 mixture of turf soil and humus or peat, preferably from mid-March to the end of April. Mass shoots appear on the 6-7th day after sowing. The most favorable air temperature for seed germination is +18-20°C, and for normal growth and development of seedlings - +15-16°C.
After the seedlings have become stronger, they are pricked to pinch the tip of the main root in order to stimulate the development of a fibrous root system. When growing seedlings, it is watered moderately, ventilated and fed at least twice with 10-15 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium chloride per 10 liters of water.
Before sampling Asters are watered abundantly, which helps preserve the roots. Seedlings are planted in open ground when they are 40-60 days old; they should not be overgrown. By the time of planting in open ground, the plants should have a strong stem 6-10 cm high and 5-7 large bright green leaves. Asters are planted according to the following scheme: row spacing is 45-50 cm, the distance between plants in a row is 20 cm. Thickened plantings reduce terry growth and reduce the decorativeness of asters.
At seedless method When growing aster, the seeds are sown directly into the ground in two periods: in spring and before winter. Term spring sowing depends on the readiness of the soil, usually carried out simultaneously with sowing dill, lettuce and carrots. The seeding depth is 1-1.5 cm; the furrows are well watered beforehand.
Sowing aster in winter has its advantages: friendly shoots appear in early spring and plants suffer less from fusarium. In addition, this way you can improve the health of varieties, since there is a natural culling of weak plants.
However, with this method special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of site. It should be well leveled, not subject to flooding in the spring, the soil should be light, not floating, and fertile. Sowing is carried out immediately before frost to prevent seed germination in the autumn. Best term- second half of November. In the spring, after the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to loosen the soil and thin out the seedlings, leaving a distance of 10-20 cm between plants.
Aster is a light-loving plant, quite undemanding to soil conditions, but it grows better in soils with a high humus content. In hot and dry weather, the fullness of the inflorescences decreases and the number of seeds set decreases, so the plants need timely watering (as the soil dries out). It should not be frequent, but plentiful. After watering or rain, the soil is loosened to avoid the formation of a crust that impedes the breathing of the root system. Loosening is done finely so as not to damage the roots. On poor soils, 12 days after planting, you can fertilize the plants with a complex of mineral fertilizers.
Of great importance when growing aster is fight against fusarium. In order to keep the plants healthy, it is necessary to strictly comply with agrotechnical requirements: change the planting location of asters annually, return to the last place of cultivation no earlier than after 5-7 years, during the growing season, remove plants with symptoms of the disease and collect seeds only from healthy plants. The introduction of fresh plants leads to a mass disease of aster fusarium. organic fertilizers, as well as excess soil and air moisture.
About perennial aster we wrote in another article about aster. Here we will look at the annual aster.
Genus annual aster has 1 type.
Aster annual or Callistephus chinensis.
The homeland is considered Far East, Mongolia, China, Korea.
Description of the annual aster
Herbaceous plant with fibrous branched root. The stems of annual aster are green, sometimes reddish, erect, hard, branched or simple. The leaves are arranged in the same order, lower leaves on petioles, oval-rhombic or broadly oval, serrate or crenate along the edges, and the upper ones are sessile. The inflorescence consists of tubular and reed flowers. The annual aster blooms from July to late autumn.
The wild-growing annual aster is not decorative. Used in culture hybrid varieties, differing in shape, coloring and structure of inflorescences; according to the shape and size of the bush and flowering period.
The global assortment includes more than 4,000 varieties belonging to more than 40 groups. 200 varieties from 20 groups are very widely used.
Location of annual aster
The plant is cold-resistant, light-loving. The annual aster achieves great decorative value when grown in moderate temperatures; it prefers sunny places and tolerates partial shade.
Soil for annual aster
Reaches best development on light soils with neutral acidity. Application of manure leads to fusarium infection.
Caring for annual aster
Needed in dry weather abundant watering, but annual asters are sensitive to excess moisture and do not tolerate damp soils and groundwater. On fertilized soils, with good watering With fertilizing, annual asters will bloom until frost. You need to feed with mineral fertilizers: they have a positive effect on the growth of bushes, the duration of flowering, and the brightness of the coloring of the inflorescences.
Diseases and pests of aster annual
Very often, plants are affected by fusarium, rot of the roots and at the base of the stem (rhizoctoniosis, sclerotinia, late blight), rust, nematodes, jaundice, armyworm, aphids, slugs.
Reproduction of annual aster
Propagated by seeds. Aster seeds remain viable for 3 years. You can sow both in open (spring and autumn) and protected soil.
Seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of May. The soil under annual asters must be moisture-permeable and fertile, because the plant does not tolerate stagnant water. Before boarding you must add wood ash, humus, compost, but not fresh manure. IN further care simple - timely watering, weeding and loosening.
Use of Aster annua
Asters are suitable for borders, borders and group plantings in the garden or for decorating terraces.
Aster is very beautiful in bouquets. Lush, graceful, inflorescences on long stems great in bouquets. Small-flowered varieties of annual aster make lovely boutonnieres. Cut flowers of annual aster remain fresh in water for about 14 days.
Aster is the queen of the autumn flower garden. There are special varieties of dwarf size for decorating flower beds. Low growing varieties good in groups on the lawn. You can use annual aster to replace early bulbous ones.
Planted nearby, they will cover the bulbs that fall asleep in the summer, and also protect them from overheating in the summer. You can plant annual aster in flower beds at any time. The aster's roots are branched and are easily restored. Therefore, even adult plants can be replanted.
The assortment of annual aster includes varieties suitable for growing in greenhouses.