looking forward to autumn. Why? During this period of time, beautiful, bright and cheerful asters begin to bloom. The petals of these plants can be painted in all colors of the rainbow and have any size. Asters are the favorite flowers of most gardeners. Why? It's all about their unpretentiousness, the absence of shortcomings and easy care. The topic of this article is aster: growing from seeds at home. From it we will learn what is needed to get healthy, high-quality aster seedlings.
Astra: growing from seeds at home
Aster seedlings - where to start growing?
To get aster seedlings, you must first find high-quality and good seeds. Where to look for one planting material? In specialized stores that sell proven seeds. You shouldn’t trust grannies and spontaneous markets, because that’s where they sell low-quality goods.
When should you start sowing aster seeds? Best time– beginning of April. Aster seedlings grow quickly and will be ready for planting in a month, so do not rush and plant seeds in winter. Sowing seeds can also be done in small peat pots or plastic cups, pre-filled nutritious soil. Experts recommend giving preference to universal soil compositions.
The process of sowing aster seeds consists of the following stages:
- When sprouts appear, which will appear in a week, the pots with seeds are moved to a well-lit place and covered with a small piece of polyethylene film. With the appearance of the first leaf, a dive is carried out.
When is it fashionable to plant aster seedlings in the ground? Experts recommend doing this in early May. Even if you live in a cold part of our country, you should not worry about the condition of the seedlings. Aster is a tenacious and frost-resistant plant, so it can easily tolerate light frosts. What kind of place should there be for planting aster seedlings?
Features of planting aster seedlings in open ground
Like any other plant, asters love a good climate, sufficient sunlight and moisture. How to choose the right place to land? It is important to consider some points:
- Lighting. It is important that the ultraviolet rays fully illuminate the plant. You should not plant asters under a tree or other large bush, otherwise they will stop growing and bloom poorly.
- Location. It is dangerous to plant a flower in a hole. Why? Constant accumulation of moisture negatively affects the growth of the aster and its condition. It is necessary that the water leaves immediately without lingering near the root system of the plant.
- Soil. Asters are not very demanding on the quality of the soil, but some points will still have to be taken into account. The flower does not like acidic soil, so it is recommended to additionally fertilize the soil with ash. You should also add a small amount of fertilizer and humus.
So, aster, growing from seeds at home which the process is simple, will become wonderful decoration and complement your summer cottage. We hope that our tips will be useful to you.
Growing an aster from seeds, if desired, can be done at home, but most often it is planted in an open ridge, since it is the queen autumn flowers. At the end of August, the most beautiful buds, different in both shape and shade, bloom.
This flower reproduces well using seeds. But if you purchase seeds in a specialized store, you should pay attention to the expiration date.
Since seeds lose their viability quite quickly and expired ones are unlikely to sprout. Even after a storage period of two years, only 50% of the seeds germinate.
How to collect seeds
Seeds are collected from the largest and most beautiful buds, which are among the first to bloom. Because the flower is autumn and the seeds are still we need time to mature. To distinguish the buds, you need to mark it by tying a colored thread to it. After the white fluff appears on the bud, it is cut off and disassembled into seeds.
If the weather is rainy, then the seeds should be dried well so that they do not rot. After which the seeds are put into paper bags and the Asters variety is labeled.
Seed preparation
After the Astra varieties are selected, their seeds are purchased. They must be treated to be disinfected.. Therefore, add a dark solution of potassium manganese and soak the seeds in it for 3 hours. After the procedure, the seeds should be dried at home.
There are seeds sold in capsules, they are already processed and do not need to be further processed.
When to sow
Aster seeds begin to sow approximately in mid-March. And they are sown in prepared soil, which consists of:
- Sand.
- Sod land.
- Peat.
This soil is sorted out, ridding it of large fractions, and poured into a container, leveled and lightly pressed down.
Sowing
To sow Asters in even rows, you can use a ruler make rows lightly pressing it onto the damp soil. They should be shallow, just a couple of centimeters. The distance between rows should be 4 cm.
Having placed the seeds in the prepared grooves, sprinkle them with a thin layer of sand more than 5 mm.
After sowing the seeds, they are spilled with a pink solution of potassium permanganate and covered with glass or plastic bag to create greenhouse conditions for seeds.
To prevent the seeds from being washed away when watering, they should be watered with a tablespoon or from a syringe without a needle.
The entire tray with the planted seeds is placed in a warm and bright place, where the air temperature will be 21 degrees Celsius. If all planting was carried out correctly, the first shoots will be made in 10 days.
Seedling care
For seedlings to grow healthy, they need proper care. When watering, it is necessary to water so that small seedlings are not washed away by water. Abundant watering flowers cannot be tolerated and may develop blackleg disease. Therefore, it is worth taking a break between waterings, allowing the soil to dry out a little.
Since the sprouts grow quite quickly and are planted in nutritious soil, then usually she does not need fertilizing. But if the soil is of low quality, then it is worth feeding with any nitrogen fertilizer.
Fertilizing only needs to be done a couple of times, otherwise there will be a lot of greenery and a couple of flowers.
The temperature in the room at the beginning of growth for seed germination should be at the level 21 degrees heat, after picking the temperature is reduced up to 16 degrees. This is done so that the seedlings do not stretch.
Planting
Asters are transplanted when there is no longer any threat of return frosts. Before disembarking at open ground The seedlings should be hardened off. This hardening is carried out for 2 weeks, gradually accustoming the seedlings to open air. The boxes are taken outside first for a couple of hours, and then at the end of the second week she is left to spend the night on the street.
- Planted out In the evening so that the seedlings are not immediately burned by the bright sun;
- On a selected and prepared site dig shallow holes at a distance of 20 cm from each other;
- The shoots are planted carefully, keeping a lump of earth. This way the seedlings will better tolerate transplantation;
- The shoots are buried by 3 cm. this will give the plant stability in the future;
- After landing good to shed the ground.
After all the procedures, mulch the soil well; this will prevent it from drying out.
Possible difficulties
There are some points that are worth paying attention to:
- If Asters do not sprout in due date we need to quickly plant a new batch. Since it is obvious that the first ones are low quality seeds.
- Asters in the ground get sick with Fusarium - you should not fertilize them with manure.
- If the flowers are not formed correctly, then most likely Astra infected spider mite or aphids.
Do not plant Asters after such flowers - Gladiolus, Carnation, Levkoy.
Diseases and pests
Fusarium- This fungal disease Aster, the main symptoms are when mature plant suddenly dies, being affected on one side.
Treatment has not yet been selected, so the diseased plant is removed from the flowerbed and wrapped in cellophane bag And thrown into a trash container.
The soil is treated with a dark solution of potassium permanganate, and Asters are not planted in this place for 5 years.
Do not burn an infected flower on your site, as this can infect your land.
- a fungal disease that often kills seedlings. It occurs from excess humidity and high temperature air. Infected parts of the seedlings are removed, the rest must be treated with a fungicide.
When growing seedlings, allow the soil to dry out between waterings.
– on sheet plates with reverse side swelling occurs, after which they die. When this disease occurs, it is worth spraying the flowers with Bordeaux mixture.
You can’t plant Asters near coniferous plants because they will be the culprits of Asters’ disease with rust.
Correct dive
Grown seedlings need dive into separate containers seating them one by one. Picking begins when two true leaves appear on the seedling.
Aster Pinocchio tolerates any transplant well, but it must be done in a timely manner, since with further growth root system The seedlings increase in size and intertwine with each other, and then it will be difficult to separate it, and in this case it is impossible to do without cutting off the roots. And this injures the seedlings.
Important comply with dive deadlines seedlings.
The process of picking seedlings itself:
- Fill the containers with the same soil adding mineral fertilizers;
- Press down, leveling the soil and make a hole for the root system of the seedling. The indentation can be made with a pencil or the handle of a teaspoon;
- Transplant the seedlings, deepening them down to the cotyledons sheet plates;
- Water so that when watering water does not fall on the leaf blades of the seedlings;
- The seedlings are placed in a bright place without direct sunlight.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes those who grow these flowers for the first time have questions about their cultivation. Here are the answers to some of them.
Is there a difference between growing Asters from seeds at home and sowing them in open ground?
In open ground, seeds are sown in the same holes, but dry without soaking. This is done so that if there is a strong drop in temperature, the seeds will not germinate. If they are already green above the ground, then most likely they will die.
Seeds planted in open ground are covered with film and not opened for two or three weeks.
Is it possible to sow before winter?
In principle, such a method exists. But it fits only for areas with moderate winter temperatures. The seeds are sown in October-November so that the seeds do not begin to grow when the first frost hits the surface of the earth. The grooves are made in advance.
In this case, Astra crops are sprinkled with a small layer of sand or purchased nutritious soil and not watered. If frosts begin without snow cover, then the crops can be covered with burlap and roofing felt.
Pros and cons of perennials and annuals
The advantages of annual flowers are that they have large flowers with rich color scheme , but the downside is that they must be planted annually.
The advantages are planting once every five years Then they just need to be planted, as they grow a lot. There aren't many cons color options small flowers, but there are so many of them in the bush that it turns out to be one blooming ball.
The best drugs for the job
To prevent any diseases on plants, seedlings and soil, people use various drugs:
- Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate);
- Biological product "Glyokladin";
- Fitosporin;
- Vitaros;
- Zircon;
- Novosil;
- Maxim.
These drugs help grow seedlings and herbs, but first of all you need to buy healthy seeds.
What containers are there?
You can buy ready-made containers, or you can use improvised means that are formed during human life. Store bought will do container for sowing seeds 50 cm long, 15 cm deep. There are a lot of purchased cassettes where seedlings of any flowers are planted after picking.
You can use such improvised means as containers from the cake packaging for general planting of seeds and disposable cups of 200 grams. for pickled plants.
To grow healthy seedlings Asters are worth your time and labor, as in the end you will get healthy, powerful seedlings, from which magnificent bushes of flowers will emerge, blooming their caps of inflorescences in late August and early autumn.
The word "aster" is translated from Latin as star. The family received such a heavenly name herbaceous plants, belonging to the family Asteraceae or Asteraceae, and consisting of annual and perennial crops. Aster is unpretentious, planting and caring for it is quite within the capabilities of novice gardeners.
Today there are several hundred types of flowers. Their appearance in Europe is associated with a French monk who smuggled the plant from China. An ancient legend said that two monks did not reach the skies through the Altai mountains, at the foot they saw a meadow with beautiful unusual flowers. Disillusioned with the search for stars, they gave a celestial name to these plants, dug up several sprouts and began to grow them in their monastery.
We will tell you about the methods of planting and growing this amazing flower, we will share some secrets of care and methods of combating insect pests.
Callistephus or annual aster is known among gardeners as Chinese or garden aster.
Description of the plant includes:
Aster types of inflorescences
- stems are branched, simple green, sometimes dark red;
- leaves - petiolate, alternate;
- root - powerful with a large number branches;
- inflorescences - simple in the form of baskets;
- fruit - achene.
Today, the annual aster is represented by 4 thousand varieties, many of which are similar to peonies, chrysanthemums and others garden plants. Breeders have made attempts to bring order to the groups and varieties of annual asters, but today none of the classifications is ideal.
Aster seeds
To grow aster, purchase seed material not only from foreign companies. Domestic seeds are more reliable (for example, they are more resistant to fusarium) and are designed for our climatic conditions.
Don't buy seeds at the first store you come across. Some unscrupulous sellers offer expired or incorrect seeds for sale. Sometimes purchased in a huge number, they don’t have time to sell in the first year or two. It is hardly possible to achieve good germination from such seed.
Remember
You need to buy seeds only in specialized stores! No sales at markets, megamarkets and temporary tents at bus stops!
When purchasing bags of seeds, check the expiration date. If sprouts do not appear, try buying seed from another store and planting again. Beautiful appearance Aster flowers depend on planting and care.
Seedling method for asters
Annual asters are planted in two ways. The first, seedling, is more labor-intensive, but the inflorescences appear several weeks earlier. Do you want to have it in your garden by September 1st? lush bouquet asters, choose the first method. It is also suitable for obtaining seeds.
Whether or not to carry out a dive is up to each gardener to decide for himself. Some people prefer not to disturb young plants and not replant them separately. Moreover, the seedlings grow well large group. And when planting in the ground, they simply separate the plants from each other, carefully releasing the roots.
Caring for aster seedlings includes weekly feeding with complex fertilizer. Seedlings are transferred to open ground in May, when they have a strong stem up to 10 cm high and several strong leaves. It is better to do the transplant in the evening, so that the young shoots get a little used to the new place overnight.
Compost or humus is first added to the soil for seedlings, you can add wood ash and dolomite flour. The seedlings are well moistened and then rooted in pre-watered grooves, maintaining a distance of 20-30 cm between them. Sprinkle the plantings with dry soil.
Planting in open ground
When choosing the second growing method, the seeds are immersed directly in the ground in May. Moreover, aster seeds and seedlings easily tolerate nighttime temperature drops down to -4 °C.
Selecting a location
Asters love sunny areas of gardens and grow well in light partial shade. They prefer light fertile soils(neutral or slightly alkaline).
Flower beds are prepared in the fall. To do this, dig up the selected area to the depth of a bayonet shovel with the addition of your choice of humus or compost (up to 4 kg per m²). If the soil is depleted, then per 1 sq. m during spring digging, you can add superphosphate - up to 40 g, ammonium sulfate and potassium salt - 20-30 g each.
Remember
Do not add fresh manure to the soil. This can cause fusarium and the flowers will begin to fade.
Predecessors
Astra Ribbon Red
Experienced gardeners know that to obtain good harvest, lush flowering plant crops requires periodic replanting. In addition, it is worth carefully choosing sites for those plants that do not tolerate certain predecessors. It is not advisable to plant asters in a place where tomatoes and potatoes have already produced fruit. A flowerbed of asters will not grow well after tulips, carnations, and gladioli.
Remember
The planting sites for asters need to be changed periodically. The constant presence of these flowers in the same area can lead to diseases.
Before planting asters, small grooves are formed with seeds. Why do they put seeds in them, sprinkling them with a one-centimeter thick layer of earth? Watering the seedlings plain water, or diluted with potassium permanganate to a faint pink color.
After planting, to avoid rapid drying out of the soil, asters should be mulched using peat or a special film. Use shelter until the first shoots hatch.
Young asters are thinned out when the first two true leaves appear. Leave a distance of 15-20 centimeters between flowers. Some varieties require more space. It depends on the height of the flower.
Caring for asters
Caring for asters includes a full range of measures: watering, fertilizing, loosening, disease prevention and treatment in case of illness.
Watering
For correct formation need a flower good watering. Do not allow the soil to dry out for a long time or the area to become heavily waterlogged. For hot weather, abundant but infrequent watering is preferable at the rate of 30 liters per square meter. Don’t forget to loosen the beds afterwards.
Remember
Lack of watering leads to the loss of the crop's decorative appearance.
Top dressing
Caring for asters in open ground requires mandatory feeding. Only use is not allowed fresh manure, which leads to fusarium. It will be safer to use mineral fertilizers.
Several feedings are carried out during the season:
- fifteen days after the seedlings have rooted or the seedlings reach a height of 10-15 cm, you can add any complex fertilizer.
- When planting inflorescences, it is better to use either ammonium nitrate or a complex fertilizer containing nitrogen.
- When putting out buds, it is better to take full mineral fertilizer.
- For the flowering period, mixtures with phosphorus and potassium or wood ash are suitable.
Remember
For the proper development of asters, only potash fertilizers, do not contain chlorine.
Periodically, you need to water the plants on top with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. This allows you to achieve lush and beautiful inflorescences. But only the stem and leaves are moistened; there is no need to pour water on the flowers themselves.
Bloom
After planting, an aster flower can bloom almost until the onset of frost. Various varieties form inflorescences from late July to early September.
Flowering times vary:
- early varieties require 90 days after germination;
- for medium - 110 days;
- for later ones - 130 days.
Asters decorate gardens until the first autumn frosts. Annual varieties Perfect for creating bouquets. When cut, they can retain beautiful fresh look up to two weeks.
Transfer
Asters respond well to transplantation, quickly recovering even after a change permanent place growth. Having carefully dug up a flower with a lump of earth, it can be moved to another area or planted in a container, decorating the yard or balcony. This way you can plant new plants instead of dead or faded ones, or you can simply create new look flower garden
Seed collection
After flowering, asters are burned. Made to destroy harmful insects and various viruses. The seeds are collected after the flowers have withered and darkened. The fluff that appears in the center is cut off and laid out in paper bags. Seed collection is carried out in dry weather. Because wet seeds will require drying.
Remember
Aster seeds are difficult to store, and after a year or two their germination rate decreases by half. Therefore, take last year’s seed material for planting.
Seeds are also planted before winter, but in a different area. They are laid along grooves and covered with dry humus or peat on top. You can sow seeds in December and January. Gardeners claim that such sowing is even more reliable, since the material is not afraid of temperature fluctuations. After the snow melts, the area is covered with film to speed up germination.
Diseases of asters
A common disease of this crop is fusarium, which manifests itself mainly in adult plants. The suddenly yellowed flower begins to fade. There are no treatments yet. Therefore, they must be carried out preventive measures, such as crop rotation and crop rotation. Sick plants are destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease.
Other crops include:
- Sulfur leg is manifested by blackening of the base of the stem in seedlings and adult plants. Diseased flowers are removed and the soil is disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Rust can be identified by swellings on the lower parts of the leaves. For prevention, you should not plant flowers next to coniferous plants. Sick individuals are sprayed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. She is already treating the sick flower.
- Jaundice is caused by a virus carried by aphids and cicadas. First, the carriers of the disease are destroyed, and then the flowers are sprayed with insecticides. Affected specimens are destroyed.
Insect pests
You can control insect pests using folk remedies or pesticides. For example, a cultivated slug can simply be collected by hand or the drug metaldehyde can be used to destroy it. Plants with spider mites, meadow bugs, and armyworms are sprayed with karbofos and fosfomycin. Fundazol is used to combat the common earwig.
To prevent the appearance of insect pests, there are a number of preventive measures.
This includes:
- digging up the earth before winter;
- destruction of dead and faded plants;
- correct choice of varieties;
- improving soil quality;
- maintaining distances when planting plants.
Asters look great in a flower bed with other flowers. Can be picked up certain combination shades and heights, resulting in a cascading flower garden. Asters are unpretentious. And having sowed these flowers on your plot for the first time, you can fall in love with them for life.
The rich and at the same time simple charm of asters will not leave anyone indifferent. But they will not be able to be grown correctly if the sowing dates are not observed. When to plant asters for seedlings?
Aster is a whole genus of herbaceous plants, uniting a huge number of species. According to botanists, there are about 200 of them. These plants belong to the Asteraceae or Compositae family. The name of the genus comes from Greek word, meaning "star".
Pay attention! Garden aster, which is most often grown on personal plots, isolated in 1825 into a separate genus Callistephus and called Chinese callistephus. Chinese aster, garden aster and annual aster, as well as callistephus are the same plant.
In the wild, callistephus or garden aster lives in China, Korea, and Mongolia. This is an annual plant with a herbaceous erect green (less often reddish) stem that produces a lot of shoots and bushes well. Its height can reach 90 cm. The root system is very powerful and branches widely. The leaves are oval, fairly wide, serrated.
Callistephus has become widespread in gardening thanks to its fluffy basket-shaped inflorescences, which have different colors and sometimes reach 10 cm in diameter. Aster blooms for a short time, usually in summer and towards autumn. The inflorescences can be painted white, lilac, purple, red and other colors, and the petals (or rather, tubular or reed small flowers) can be curly, reminiscent of bird feathers, or straight.
Note! Aster callistephus growing in the wild is not as beautiful as those that were bred as a result of the work of breeders. Now exists large number varieties and hybrids that differ from each other in shape, size and color of inflorescences.
Aster thrives growing in regions with different climatic conditions. But in cold areas, it will most likely be possible to wait for it to bloom only by growing its seedlings in the winter.
Sowing dates
When to sow asters for seedlings? The answer to this question will depend on many factors, including climatic conditions specific region. For example, in warm regions aster is planted only in early May. Deadlines sowing - June 10-15. IN northern regions These flowers are sown no later than April, and better yet, in March. The growing season of aster from the moment of germination to the first flowers lasts from 80 to 130 days.
Also, the time for sowing asters depends on when you need to get flowers - in the middle of summer or by September 1, and so on. Wishes and growing conditions are taken into account individual varieties (early varieties– 80-90 days, mid-early – 110 days, late – at least 120-130 days, and this is the end of summer and the beginning of autumn). Simple calculations will be helped by the information that will be given on the package of seeds. And to get plants that will bloom in different times, you need to plant seedlings at different time intervals. Thus, the duration of flowering can be significantly increased.
Pay attention! From the day the seeds are planted until the aster seedlings move into open ground, it will take about 2 months.
Seed preparation
Preparation for sowing asters begins long before the procedure itself. First, you should imagine what the flowerbed should look like, and, based on this, choose callistephus varieties that are suitable in color and height. If there is a desire to create a flowerbed consisting of several tiers, then those species that have low stems are selected to the foreground. For the distant or central rows (in a round flower garden), the choice is made in favor of tall varieties.
When choosing seeds, their shelf life is also assessed. These dates must be indicated on the packages. You should not take old seeds - they may lose their viability.
Attention! Can also be used by hand collected seeds, which are easily obtained from the fruits that appear after flowering. The seed matures approximately 30-40 days after the first flowers appear.
Aster seeds are very light and quite small - 1 gram contains about 500 pieces! Therefore, the procedures for pre-sowing preparation convenient to carry out by wrapping the seeds in a piece natural fabric. Pickling is done as follows: potassium permanganate is diluted in a glass of water until pink shade, a bag of seeds is dipped into this solution for 2-3 hours. After this procedure, they are washed and dried.
Pay attention! Those seeds that are sold in capsules (coated) have already been initially processed, so they cannot be soaked. But it is best to disinfect seeds collected with your own hands, just in case.
Aster seeds can also be pre-germinated before sowing. This is not necessary, but it will make them sprout faster. In order for aster seeds to germinate, they are also wrapped in a piece of cloth and dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 10 hours, then squeezed out, wrapped in a plastic bag and kept warm. Sprouts will appear quickly, after which the seeds can be planted in the ground. Also, to accelerate growth, planting material is dipped in a solution of any growth stimulant that is purchased in the store.
An alternative option is to germinate seeds on toilet paper.
Preparing the soil and container
Proper soil suitable for asters - too important condition success in germinating seeds and growing seedlings. You can also use a mixture from the store, but most gardeners prepare the substrate themselves. It's not as difficult as it seems - it's enough to keep all the proportions correctly.
To prepare soil for asters, mix peat, turf soil, clean river sand in a ratio of 1:2:0.5. Also, for about every 5 liters of soil, add a glass of ash. The latter can be replaced dolomite flour– a couple of tablespoons is enough.
Note! To use soil from the store, add a little coarse sand to it - approximately 5:0.5. The sand must be washed.
Some gardeners prefer to use vermicompost, which is added as a leavening agent (1:2).
By the way, before use, it is recommended to calcine the soil in the oven, pour boiling water or potassium permanganate on it, you can use a fungicide solution - in general, disinfect it in any way. This is especially important for soil mixtures made independently. Yes, and purchased soil may also contain something harmful and dangerous, so prevention will not hurt.
You should also prepare separately sand, which will be needed for sprinkling the crops. He should also be subjected to preventive treatment to avoid unpleasant situations.
The container for seedlings can be any, but most often long wooden or plastic boxes. Special ones are also often used, in which the seeds are sown in portions. Containers should be rinsed thoroughly before filling with soil. It is necessary to make holes at the bottom for water drainage, and a small layer is poured in front of the soil drainage material, for example, expanded clay.
Sowing seedlings
How to properly sow aster seeds for seedlings? The instructions are quite simple and are presented in the table below.
Table. Sowing aster seeds.
| Steps, photo | Description of actions |
|---|---|
| The soil is placed in boxes or other containers quite tightly, but in such a way that there is some distance left to the edge of the container - about 1-2 cm. If the soil has not been treated before the stage of filling the containers, then it should be spilled with a pink solution of potassium permanganate to avoid the development of infections. |
| Aster seeds are carefully removed from the packaging so as not to be lost, after which everything is done with them. preventive measures. If you don’t want to soak them, then immediately before planting it won’t hurt to treat the seeds with a dry fungicide - there will definitely be no harm from this, and the procedure won’t take much time. |
| The soil in the containers is slightly moistened with water from a spray bottle. Aster seeds should be placed carefully and evenly on the soil surface. It is convenient to do it this way: the seed is poured onto a small piece of paper, on which a depression is formed. In order for the seeds to fall onto the ground, the paper is tilted towards the container, and the paper is gently tapped with a finger. We should not forget about the designation of varieties - labels can be pasted on containers or pieces of paper with the names of asters can be inserted directly into the ground. |
| Aster seeds are not sprinkled with soil - coarse, pre-treated sand is used for this purpose. Layer thickness is about 5-8 mm. The use of sand is necessary in order to protect future shoots from the “black leg” - the fact is that sand does not accumulate water, and the stems will not get wet when watering. |
| To retain moisture and heat, the container with seedlings is covered with a lid - polyethylene, glass, plastic. Then the seedlings are removed to a bright place. If necessary, moisturize only with a spray bottle so as not to wash away fine particles sand |
| About a week after the first shoots appear, the lid is removed. |
Video - Sowing aster seeds in boiling water
Seedling care
Now, so that all the work does not go to waste, the seedlings should be properly cared for. Small asters, like other plants, need sufficient warmth, light and moisture, but not excessive quantity. Containers with seedlings are placed on a bright window or. The air temperature until the sprouts appear is maintained at about +18-25 degrees, and then decreases slightly.
It is important to maintain the correct watering regime. It should be sufficient, but moderate. Determining when it’s time to water the seedlings is quite simple - the sand on the surface of the soil becomes dry. The main thing is to remember that under the sand there is soil that retains moisture better, and therefore you should not pour too much water.
Approximately 10 days after removing the cover protecting the seedlings from exposure environment, the sprouts begin to develop their first true leaves. And this is a signal to carry out such a procedure as picking.
You can use exactly the same soil that was used for sowing the seeds, but this time it is poured into individual cups. A small depression is made in the center of the soil so that the roots of the asters fit well into it. small plant planted in a hole so that about 10 mm remains to the cotyledons, and the root system is sprinkled with soil. The soil around the stem should be slightly compacted with your fingers. After this, the seedling can be watered, with the stream of water directed along the edge of the pot and not onto the plant.
Pay attention! It is convenient to remove seedlings from a common container using a small wooden spatula.
Immediately after picking the plant in a straight line sunlight They don’t exhibit it – it’s dangerous for them. But you shouldn’t put them in a dark place either. The air temperature in the room is maintained at about +20 degrees. Daily temperature changes are gradually introduced: during the day +16 -18 degrees, and at night only +12-15 is enough.
The first feeding of aster seedlings is carried out 10-14 days after picking: they are watered with a solution of mineral fertilizers. Can be used ready mixture or dilute 20 g of saltpeter and 15 g of superphosphate in a large bucket of water and water with this solution. On average, before seedlings move into open ground, they manage to feed them at least 2 times. The optimal interval between feedings is 14 days. You can also fertilize asters by spraying them - it all depends on the specific preparation that is used.
Caring for aster seedlings
Unfortunately, young asters often suffer from “black leg”. If the first signs of this scourge are noticed, then the diseased seedlings are removed, and all the rest are spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate.
A correctly planted lobelia can radically change the appearance of everything. garden plot. It is great for decorating flower beds, ridges, and flowerpots, and is used to create alpine slides. At the same time, growing this plant yourself from seeds is not at all difficult. For everything to work out, you need to know how and.
Landing in the ground
Very soon the aster seedlings will have to move into open ground. However, first you need to harden it. This procedure begins approximately when the sprouts have 4-5 true leaves. Plants are placed on a balcony or loggia, which must be glazed. At first, it is not worth keeping young asters in such conditions for long - no more than 15 minutes. But in the future they can be left longer and longer, adding 10-20 minutes daily.