Asters have been very popular among gardeners since ancient times. Mention of this amazing flower, similar to an asterisk, can be found in ancient treatises.
This herbaceous plant belongs to the Asteraceae or Asteraceae family. There are a large number of varieties and varieties of this amazing flower. In the article we will present various asters, photos of flowers and a description of the most popular varieties.
Description
Asters of various types and varieties have simple leaves, and the inflorescences are represented by baskets collected in panicles or corymbs. Flowers come in different colors, bushes of different heights and shapes. There are annual and perennial asters.
Regardless of the type and variety, the plants have a long flowering period, excellent resistance to unfavorable conditions, and are drought and frost resistant. The beauty of asters and the variety of colors attract landscape designers.
Classification
To understand which varieties of asters to choose for your flower garden, you need to get acquainted with the classification according to various criteria.
Height
Before sowing, you need to know the height of the plants; the planting location depends on it:
- dwarf - no higher than 25 cm;
- short - about 35-40 cm;
- medium height - no higher than 65 cm;
- tall - no more than 80 cm;
- giant - above 80 cm.
Form
Among the variety of species and varieties, bushes of the following forms are distinguished:
- pyramidal;
- columnar;
- oval;
- wide spreading;
- wide dense.
Flowering time
When planning flower beds and flower beds, you need to consider when the plants will begin to bloom. In this case, you can create paradises in the garden with continuous flowering:
- Early flowering. Flowering begins in May, from the moment of germination it takes from 83 to 106 days.
- With medium shoots of flowering or summer asters. After planting, 107-120 days pass, the time for buds to appear is mid-July.
- Late flowering. Mass appearance of buds - end of August. You need to plant the seeds very early; asters begin to bloom three to three and a half months after germination.
Bush structure
When choosing varieties and planting asters, you need to take into account the characteristics of the bush. Otherwise, the flower beds will look untidy. Bushes are:
- weakly branched;
- highly branched;
- compact;
- spreading.
Shape and size of inflorescences
Dimensions:
- Small. Flowers diameter less than 4 cm.
- Average. Baskets up to 8 cm.
- Large. With a diameter of inflorescences from 9 to 11 cm.
- Gigantic. The baskets are large, more than 12 cm in diameter.
The inflorescences themselves can be:
- tubular;
- transitional, consist of tubes and tongues;
- reed, they either completely lack tubular flowers, or they are located in the very center, but they are not visible due to the overgrown reed petals.
There are also:
- flat;
- flat-round;
- hemispherical;
- spherical;
- simple;
- semi-double;
- terry;
- densely double.
Purpose
A wide variety of species and varieties of asters allows them to be grown for different purposes. According to their purpose, flowers are divided into the following groups:
- Tall plants with long peduncles and large flowers are most often grown for marketing purposes; they are intended for cutting for making bouquets.
- Dwarf and low-growing asters, which always have many small inflorescences that form a ball, are grown as decorative garden decorations.
- Universal varieties of asters are usually compact, but with long peduncles. Their baskets are medium in size, so they are grown not only for decorative decoration of flower beds, but also for cutting.
Color palette
It is not possible to classify asters by color, because the petals of annual flowers can be of a wide variety of colors:
- white and red;
- blue and purple;
- purple and lilac;
- salmon and cream;
- yellow and cream;
- carmine, two-color and even three-color.
Perennial asters
Perennial asters come in different heights and colors. Tall plants are planted in separate flower beds, and dwarf varieties look very good in rockeries and alpine hills, as hedges.
Garden decoration - perennial aster:
Let's look at the types of perennials.
New Belgian (Virginian) asters
The sizes of this species vary from 30 to 150 cm and are used for autumn garden decoration. The inflorescences of perennial asters are small, no more than three centimeters. The stems of the species are thin, but strong, branch well, forming a dense bush. Therefore, asters are used for border decoration.
They begin to bloom only in early September. That is why it is very difficult to grow perennials of this species in the middle zone and in the zone of risky farming.
Common varieties of the species:
- Marie Ballard is a variety with blue flowers. The bushes are vigorous, up to 95 cm. Flowering is long, up to 60 days. An excellent option for cutting and making bouquets.
- Violetta is a compact bush with blue-violet flowers. The variety is usually planted in the foreground of the flower garden.
- White Lady has reed petals that are white or light purple. The flowers themselves are small. The bush grows up to one and a half meters. Looks good in group plantings.
- Ada Ballard with regular lavender-blue flowers, up to 95cm tall.
New England (American) asters
Asters of this species are distinguished by lush flowering and branching. Plants bloom from September until frost. The inflorescences are not too large, 3-4 cm in diameter. They are deep red and blue, pink and dark purple, dark purple and blue.
The following varieties of asters are popular among flower growers (photos are presented for clarity):
- Constgans. A tall variety with inflorescences collected in racemes. The flowers are dark purple, the yellow-red core is covered with thick narrow petals.The plants form a real purple-green carpet.
- Bars Pink. Tall asters up to one and a half meters in height. The bush is lush with a lot of branches. The inflorescences are racemose, about 4 cm in diameter. The flowers are of two types: carmine-colored and tubular yellow in the center. They look beautiful both in single plantings and in combination with other colors. Suitable for cutting.
Italian asters
Representatives of this type of asters, look at the photo, regardless of the variety, if you remove the color palette, they look like daisies.
The bushes are medium-sized, 60-70 cm high. The first inflorescences appear in July, the flower has a diameter of 4 to 5 cm. Petals with a rich color palette: pink, purple, blue, light blue, lavender or lilac.
The best varieties of Italian asters are:
- Gnome is a mixture of aster seeds of various colors. The bushes have the shape of a ball, on which large, densely double inflorescences (diameter from 5 to 7 cm) bloom in large numbers. Asters are low-growing, no higher than 20 cm in height. Flowering begins in July and continues until frost. It is advisable to plant the variety mixture in the sun, or at least in light partial shade. Rain and wind do not affect the decorative appearance of the bushes. Plants grow well in pots or on the balcony in boxes.
- Herman Lene is a variety with abundant flowering. The petals are reed-shaped and light purple.
- Rose variety with double petals and a basket with a diameter of about 4 cm. The reed petals are pink, and the tubular petals are light brown. Flowering for more than one and a half months. Suitable for making bouquets and compositions.
- Heinrich Seibert with reed flowers of a light pink shade.
- Thomson is a low-growing aster, height about 45 cm. Flowering lasts from July until the first frost.It is distinguished by blue inflorescences and gray leaves.
- Frikart asters with lavender-blue flowers grow up to 75 cm. The delicate inflorescences bloom alternately, so new flowers are always appearing on the plant. This is a hybrid created on the basis of the Thompson variety and the Italian aster.
Dwarf alpine asters
Alpine asters have creeping stems, so they are often grown as ground cover plants. The height of the plants is from 10 to 40 cm. The leaves are small, even inconspicuous, but during flowering, rockeries, borders or alpine slides are painted with bright colors.
In the inflorescences, depending on the variety, large or small buds open. The color palette is so diverse that it is simply impossible to list all the shades:
- dark purple and red-pink;
- dark purple and dark blue;
- white and pink, as well as various shades of these colors.
We will present several of the most popular varieties with descriptions and photos:
- Dunkle Schone is a bush aster. Fluffy flowers, reminiscent of a chamomile in shape, are medium in size, only 3 cm in diameter. The petals are reed-shaped, dark purple in color, and the center is bright yellow, like the sun. The variety is frost-resistant, it is most often planted on an alpine hill, and is also combined in flower beds with other plants.
- Rosea is a long-flowering representative of the Alpine asters. From June until the first frosts, pale pink reed petals, framing a brown tubular core, delight the eye. And the flower itself (look at the photo) really looks like a wild rose flower. Hence, apparently, the name.
- Goliath. The leaves are green, elongated, and sit tightly on the stem. A variety with soft purple flowers.Flowering is short, only a month, inflorescences are large baskets up to 6 cm in diameter. The main use is rockeries, alpine slides.
- Superbus is also a low-growing variety of alpine asters, they grow a maximum of 20 cm in height. The flowers are semi-double, 3.5 cm in diameter. These are blue “daisies” of summer bloom.
- Alba. Asters with dense bushes about 40 cm high, well leafy. Leaf blades are green, elongated. The variety is semi-double, represented by snow-white flowers (diameter 3 cm) with petals resembling a bird's tongue. The center is made of yellow tubular petals.
Here she is, my alpine:
Tibetan and Natalen asters
These types of asters are practically unknown to Russians. Both varieties have blue baskets. Tibetan asters bloom profusely. The Anderson variety is the smallest representative of the asteraceae, its height is from 5 to 8 cm.
Can be propagated by seeds, cuttings or dividing the bush.
Annual asters
Today there are more than 600 species of asteraceae grown as annual crops. They have different heights, colors, and different sizes and shapes of inflorescences. Among them you can find simple baskets, terry and semi-double.
According to the shape of the flower, annual varieties of asters (photo below) are:
- Needle-shaped
- Chrysanthemum-shaped
- Pompons
- Globular
- Peony-shaped
- Rosaceae
Popular varieties
It is almost impossible to talk about all varieties of annual (Chinese) asters, indicating names and providing photos, in one article. We will try to name the most common plants.
Galaxy
A bouquet type variety with a height of about 70 cm.It has up to 24 branches with large double needle-shaped inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter. Flowering from July to August. The color palette is varied. Tall plants are planted either singly or in flower beds in combination with shorter plants. Excellent option for cutting.
Dwarf
The inflorescences are peony-shaped, white, the height of the compact bush is from 25 to 35 cm. The diameter of the flowers is 5-7 cm. The peduncles are long, they last a long time when cut, so they are grown not only to decorate the garden, but also for bouquets. The plant feels good in pots, on balconies and loggias.
Symphony
The aster variety is tall, up to one meter. The leaves are oval, rich green. Inflorescences are double, spherical. The flowers are red-purple with a white border, about 9 cm in diameter, located on long stems up to 60 cm high. Flowering is abundant and long-lasting. The variety is recommended for cutting.
Oktyabrina
Bush asters of medium height (about 45 cm) summer flowering. Each plant produces 9-11 inflorescences of dark carmine flowers. The outer row consists of reed petals, the inner row is represented by tubular petals. The inflorescences are large, no more than 8 cm.
Gala
This variety has the shape of a pyramid and grows up to 80 cm. The inflorescences are large and densely double. The diameter of flowers is up to 12 centimeters. Blooms in August and September. The colors of the buds are rich: red, pink, beige, purple and intermediate shades.
Snow White
Columnar plants up to 70 cm high. Inflorescences are double and densely double. The snow-white flowers are large, about 12 cm in diameter. Flowering is abundant for at least two months. Asters practically do not suffer from fusarium.Recommended for planting in flower beds among other plants, as well as for cutting. They last a long time in bouquets.
Lady Coral
This variety is also resistant to fusarium. The inflorescences are located on long stems. A large number of flowers bloom on one branch (see photo), so it looks like a bouquet. Large buds from 16 to 17 cm in diameter come in different colors:
- white and yellow;
- pink and red;
- cream, blue and purple.
They look great both in single plantings and among other garden plants. The bouquet quality is excellent, so the variety is grown for cutting.
Excellent Rackley
Spectacular asters, which, unlike other aster varieties, have two or even three colors on one flower. The inflorescences are flat-rounded, with long reed petals 4-8 cm in diameter. The center is made of tubular flowers with a bright yellow tint.
Cloud
A universal-purpose variety, grown both for creating original flower bed designs and for arranging bouquets. The bushes are semi-spreading, quite tall - from 70 to 75 cm in height. Astras are not afraid of changing climatic conditions; they rarely suffer from fusarium.
The inflorescences are semi-double, about 10 cm in diameter. The name itself already speaks of the color of the buds. Snow-white flowers, reminiscent of the head of a bride in a veil, will appeal to even the most sophisticated lovers of garden plants.
Suliko
Of course, one cannot help but describe another representative of the Astrov family, the Suliko variety. This columnar plant with densely double inflorescences grows up to 70 cm. The buds are blue-violet and consist of reed and tubular petals. The diameter of the flower is at least 10 cm. The variety belongs to plants with medium-late flowering periods, which lasts more than two months.A real decoration of the garden, these asters in a bouquet are no less attractive.
Let's sum it up
Choosing suitable asters is both simple and difficult due to the huge assortment. Every gardener who decides to plant these amazing flowers, similar to daisies or stars, will be able to choose plants for the garden based on the height of the bush, the size and color of the buds. You can create any compositions in flower beds. This is why asters attract landscape designers.
