How to sow aster

Sowing time

The sowing time of asters will be determined according to different varieties. The sowing time of the Asteroid series is generally from November to April of the following year, and the flowering period is from April to August.

You can also sow in batches as needed to control the flowering period.

Dwarf varieties can be sown in the greenhouse from February to March or in the sunny bed in March, and will bloom from May to June; sown in the open field from April to May and will bloom from July to August; sown in the early and late July, they can bloom on November 1st; sown in early to mid-August, the seedlings can overwinter in the cold bed, and will bloom on May 1st of the following year.

Medium-sized varieties are sown in May-June and bloom in August-September; those sown in August need to overwinter in a cold bed and bloom in May-June of the following year.

Tall varieties can be sown in spring and summer, and all bloom in autumn, but it is best to sow in early summer.

Sowing steps

Because the seeds of aster are relatively large, you can choose to sow them on demand.

Keep the temperature at 18℃-21℃ and use fertile, moist, well-drained sandy loam as the substrate.

Seedlings will emerge about 7-21 days after sowing. The seedlings grow relatively fast, so they must be thinned out in time.

Post-sowing care

After one transplant, the seedlings are planted out when they are 10 cm tall. In the dry summer, the amount of watering needs to be increased.

Use fully decomposed high-quality organic fertilizer as base fertilizer, chemical fertilizer can be used as topdressing, fertilize once every ten days during the growing season, or use "Huiyu" 20-20-20 general fertilizer, and apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer once 45 to 80 days after potting.

Chrysanthemums generally do not need to be topped, but in order to make the flowers on the main branches more prominent, some side branches can be thinned out, leaving 5-7 flower branches on each plant.

Chrysanthemums planted as cut flowers in autumn must be exposed to light for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night to promote the elongation of the flower stems and flowering.