At night they fall from the sky
The stars are white, blue, red
And in my flower garden they bloom
With multi-colored bright asters.They exude the coolness of autumn,
Their flowers bloom in September,
Asters are created in the world of space
And they reflect the light of distant stars.
Annual aster — another favorite flower among gardeners. It's easy to maintain, grows quickly, and always blooms profusely with colorful, vibrant flowers.
Astra, translated from Greek, means star. Indeed, the flower's petals resemble delicate star rays.
I also love asters and grow these delicate flowers at my dacha. I buy seeds at flower shops, but I also use my own seeds, which I collect from bushes in late autumn.
I grow asters from seedlings, sowing them in boxes in mid-April. I always disinfect the soil with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, cover them with a covering material, and leave them in the greenhouse. At the end of May, I plant them in the flowerbed. I add compost or humus to the holes, water them with a phytosporin solution, plant the seedlings, water them well, and mulch.
Flowers appear from mid-August and bloom profusely until the first frost destroys them.
My asters grow in different places, and every year I try to plant them in a new area, since the flowers often suffer from fungal diseases such as fusarium and rust.
If the first signs of disease appear - yellow wilted plants or leaves that seem to be covered in rust, I immediately remove them along with the soil lump and water the soil with phytosporin.
Caring for asters is the same as caring for other flowers: water, loosen the soil, and fertilize. As for pests, I haven't encountered aphids, slugs, or mites on asters, although I've read that these pests love this plant.
I sometimes find curled leaves with thin, green caterpillars hatching in them. I don't know what kind of pest it is, but if you don't notice it in time, this little worm will eat your leaves. I simply pluck off the leaves and destroy the caterpillars.
Asters often self-seed in the most unexpected places. Like in this photo, under the honeysuckle bushes, I left them there, and they bloomed until they froze.
I grow different asters, there are tall bushes, there are low-growing ones (25-30 cm), such bushes grow well in pots.
And the color range is incredibly diverse, from white to deep purple. The inflorescences are also varied—double, needle-like, pom-pom, and simple, like daisies. I like all the asters.
Flowers last a long time in bouquets, creating a festive mood.
And in flower beds they bloom for a long time, brightly and abundantly, decorating any corner of the dacha with their multi-colored stars.