Crop Rotation Group
Miscellaneous
|
|
Soil
Any good garden soil.
|
Position
Full sun.
|
Frost tolerant
Little or none for annual asters. Many perennial asters are very cold hardy.
|
Feeding
Encourage fast growth by mixing a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil before planting. Take care not to overfeed China asters, which may not bloom well when given too much nitrogen.
|
Companions
Use China asters as feature plants for the late summer garden, but do not crowd them.
|
Spacing
Single Plants: 11" (30cm) each way (minimum)
Rows: 11" (30cm) with 11" (30cm) row gap (minimum)
|
Sow and Plant
When starting China aster seeds indoors in early spring, cover them well with moist seed starting mix. China asters also can be direct-sown in late spring, after the soil has warmed.
Our Garden Planning Tool can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.
|
Notes
Providing some type of grow-through support for China asters helps to keep the plants upright in late summer, when they become heavy with blooms. Blossom colors include pink, purple, lavender, white, and red.
|
Harvesting
Gather China asters for flower arrangements when the blooms are just beginning to open. When kept in fresh water, new petals will unfold for two weeks.
|
Troubleshooting
Leafhoppers spread disease among asters. Where this is a problem, cover plants with row cover (garden fleece) during the first half of the growing season.
|