Common Name: Monte Casino, aster, spray aster, rainbow aster
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Symphyotrichum (formerly Aster)
Aster flower is a member of Asteraceae family. It is mostly found in the Eurasia region except one. There are 180 species in all of this flower. It looks like daisy in appearance. They come in wide variety of colors, ranging from white, purple, pink, red, lavender etc, with a yellow center.
The name Aster comes from a greek word that means star, which has a direct reference to the shape of the flower.
These plants mostly grow in wilds in all sort of conditions, but some hybrid species have also made their place in the gardens owing to their beautiful appearance.
The cut Asters have a shelf life of up to 14 days.
It has an event in the history named after itself called the “Aster Revolution”. The protesters in the Hungarian revolution on 31st October wore the Aster flower, which became the reason for this name.
How to Grow:
Aster flower can be grown in cool moist temperature, so it is always advised to grow these flowers in shade, away from direct sunlight.
- Take a pot or you can also plant it directly in the ground. Only thing is that you should make sure that the soil is properly fertilised and also properly moist and humus rich.
- It is planted using the seeds mostly. Keep the seeds in a moist container with seeds planted not too deep in the soil to facilitate germination. It should always be done in a cool area.
- Once the seeds germinate, after 4-6 weeks, sow the seedlings into the pots that you have prepared with the fertilised soil. It should be one inch deep and a distance of 1-3 feets should be kept between two asters.
- Make sure that you keep the plants watered at regular intervals so that the soil doesn’t get dried up.
- Some gardeners also use the plants taken from nurseries.
Give proper care and water to your aster plants along with sufficient fertilisers in order to have a healthy and beautiful garden full of asters.
Propagation:
As has already been discussed above, asters can be planted using the seeds. Apart from the seeds, Asters can also be grown using division.
For growing your asters by division, you need to divide the asters every 2-3 years. For using division, dig out half of the aster plant and leave the remaining in the soil. Divide the dugout plant into two halves and plant it again. Water these divisions regularly to ensure that they don’t get dried up.
Uses:
In ancient times Aster flowers were burnt in order to keep the snakes away. Different compositions of this flower are used for medicinal purposes for ailing diseases like fever, common cold etc.
It is also used for decorations in the form of potted flowers, in the gardens or in the houses as bouquets.
you can now buy Aster Mixed Seeds online from Gardener Shopping
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