Growing asters in the open field from seeds
Annual garden and perennial asters Are some of the most popular flowers in our gardens. How to properly cultivate asters from seeds, when to plant seedlings, and is it possible to get flowering plants after sowing directly into the ground?
Numerous types and varieties of asters attract flower growers with their splendor and variety of forms, an incredible palette of colors and extremely simple agricultural technology. Picky plants, even with minimal care, willingly bloom, but asters need to be grown before this happens.
How to plant asters with seeds? When is it better to start sowing at home so that the seedlings are large and strong by the time they are transferred to open ground?
Sowing timing and preparation of aster seeds for planting
Since the seeds of asters lose their germination after 2-3 years, fresh, preferably last year's material should be used for sowing.
Seeds from verified companies are ready for planting after opening the package. A different matter is the seeds collected from the flowers you like or purchased from your hands. Spores of harmful fungi could remain on their surface, so the seed must, following the instructions, be etched with a fungicide.
When to plant aster seeds for growing seedlings? Young plants are transferred to the flower bed when the time of spring frosts has passed, and the soil warms up to at least +15 ° C. In the middle lane, this does not happen until mid-May. 3-4 weeks before this time, that is, in the first half of April, they start sowing.
Soil for growing asters from seeds at home
Asters are unpretentious, they sprout and grow well in the soil of different composition, the main thing is that it is moderately nutritious, necessarily loose and light. For sowing, you can take a ready-made universal or flower substrate, and then add a little washed river sand and a loosening perlite that retains moisture to it.
To protect seedlings, the soil mixture should be well warmed up in the oven, for example in a roasting sleeve, or sterilized in another available way. In extreme cases, you can abundantly saturate the soil with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate.
If you have garden soil and sod soil at hand, a substrate suitable for planting asters with seeds can be made on your own by adding part of the sand and half a portion of perlite or vermiculite to two parts of the soil.
Sowing aster seeds for seedlings
The seeds of asters are quite large, but light, and the seedlings emerging from them are susceptible to putrefactive and fungal infections. Therefore, when sowing, the seeds are spread over a pre-moistened substrate, but they are not buried, but carefully, with a layer of up to 8 mm, sprinkle with dry calcined sand. After this, you do not need to water the contents of the container.
In the light, in the warmth, at a temperature of 15–20 ° C and high humidity, the seeds quickly awaken, swell and hatch. The first shoots can be seen in less than a week.
This period is the most important and responsible one. Asters respond to a drop in temperature, excessive watering and other changes in the growing conditions with rot.If a "black leg" is seen on the seedlings, such plants are carefully removed and destroyed together with a root ball of soil. The rest of the seedlings must be treated with a fungicide.
When a pair of real leaves appear on the asters, they are dived, transferred to separate cups or a common container, but planted at a greater distance from each other. It is convenient to use peat cells in which:
- there is no risk of plant flooding, which reduces the risk of fusarium disease;
- when transplanted into the ground, the root system does not suffer, the seedlings do not get sick and immediately start growing.
It is useful to add to the substrate for young plants complex fertilizer, containing not only nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but also trace elements.
After picking, the seedlings are exposed to a bright place protected from drafts and direct sunlight. Plants acclimate within 7-10 days. When 4-5 true leaves open on them, it's time to start hardening, increasing the time spent outdoors every day. With the establishment of warm weather, asters grown from seeds at home can be planted in the garden.
Sowing asters with seeds in open ground
If the seedlings can die at low temperatures below zero, then the ripened aster seeds perfectly tolerate winter frosts and give friendly shoots in the spring. This property of the culture is used by flower growers who do not want to bother with germination and sowing at home. Seeds are sown directly into the ground at the place of their future growth and flowering.
How to grow asters from seeds in this way? There are two options to choose from:
- sowing in late autumn, when it is already quite cold, and there is no risk of unwanted shoots;
- in early spring on snow or only thawed ground, under a film or covering material.
Seeds planted in autumn undergo natural stratification, so their seedlings, as a rule, are stronger, more friendly and suffer less from changeable spring weather and diseases.
When to plant aster seeds when grown outdoors? In autumn, sowing is carried out from mid-October and, if the weather permits, until the end of November. In the spring, you can sow even in the snow on the ground prepared from autumn until mid-April. In this case, the planted areas are covered. The second period of spring planting of asters with seeds begins in May, when heat and additional protection are no longer required.
So that the crops are not too thick, and the sprouts are weakened, the seeds are sealed:
- on well-moistened soil;
- into grooves 1–1.5 cm deep;
- at a distance of one and a half centimeters.
Top crops are sprinkled with peat-humus mixture. If cover is required for crops, it is removed as soon as mass shoots appear on the site. At the stage of formation of a true leaf, the seedlings are thinned out. The surplus should not be thrown away, asters grown from seeds in the open field take root well if they are transferred to another place.