How to Grow Asters
Aster flowers provide a beautiful addition to a fall flower garden. When so many other flowers end of their growing season, asters continue to thrive and provide brilliant color and scent to an otherwise sad landscape. Learn how to grow asters easily in your fall garden. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Plant aster seeds in spring after the last frost. Aster seeds are fragile so make sure there is no danger of a late frost before you plant the flower seeds. Plant in a well drained area with full sunlight. Asters like direct sunlight but will grow in lightly shaded areas.
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Cover the aster seeds with very little dirt, no more than 1/8 inch of soil, to protect the seeds from being eaten by foraging birds and animals.
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Thin the aster seedlings when they reach 3 to 4 inches in height, so there is at least 12 inches in between each plant. Asters will grow in bushy clumps and will need this room to grow properly.
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Continue to seed your garden and thin your aster plants throughout spring to provide blooms lasting later into the fall season. Asters will typically bloom from August through October in most growing areas.
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Deadhead the aster flowers regularly to insure healthy plant and promote new blooms.
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Replant asters in a different location each season to prevent diseases, the most prominent of which is aster wilt.
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Divide mature aster flower plants every three or four years to keep plants healthy and flourishing.
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Comments
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walkingfern
Dec 08, 2009
I assume that this article is referring to the annual aster aka Chinese aster (Aster chinensis, or now Callistephus chinensis)? Might be a good idea to differentiate, as perennial aster seeds germinate much better after a moist, cold period (although there will still be some germination without it). Thanks!
