Astra New Belgian: description of the variety, features of planting and care with a photo

It's hard to imagine a garden without flowers, they delight the eye from early spring to late autumn, improve mood, make each site unique and original. Asters are beautiful autumn flowers that are not afraid of the cold and retain the brightness of shades even at the threshold of late autumn. The bright bushes of New Belgian aster are pleasing to the eye and allow you to enjoy the saturation of colors, forgetting about the impending cold weather.

Description and characteristics of New Belgian aster

Many gardeners are familiar with this flower under the name of Oktyabrinka. Many varieties bloom really late - in September-October, the bright color of small numerous flowers makes the plant especially noticeable against the background of autumn grayness.

Astra New Belgian - perennial with thin strong stems, the bush is very lush. Depending on the variety, it can be short (60 centimeters) or tall (up to 140 centimeters), often used as a unique hedge or border plant.

Due to the abundance of varieties, it can bloom from July to November, withstanding temperatures down to -5 ° C, and delight with bright flowers of different shades - rich lilac, pink, white.

There are a huge number of flowers on the plant, the bush is completely covered with them, and resembles a bright cloud. Numerous small leaves of rich dark green color favorably contrast with bright inflorescences.

Varieties

If you wish, you can choose several varieties of this plant that differ in height and shade, and create a unique garden composition.

Marie Ballard

The creator of this variety - Ernest Ballard - bred it in 1955. The plant is tall - about a meter in height, with densely spaced stems. The bush is not tied up, and they do not put supports. Rather large flowers, have a rich bluish-lilac hue, when fully opened, a bright yellow core is exposed. It blooms at the end of July, the flowering period is 2 months.

Mont Blanc

Tall and late flowering variety. Due to the height of 130-140 centimeters, it requires support. Blooms from September for 2 months. White double flowers with a diameter of 2-4 centimeters are collected in inflorescences.

White Ladies

High, up to 110 centimeters, a bush showered with boiling white flowers, a large yellow core makes it look like a chamomile. It does not require a garter, looks very impressive, blooms in September and blooms with small (2-3 centimeters) flowers for a month.

Royal Ruby

Shrub of medium height - 80-90 centimeters, with double, bright crimson flowers and a yellow core. Abundant long-term flowering and unusual color make the variety popular among gardeners.

Amethyst

A variety with a tall bush and dark purple inflorescences, blooms from August to mid-October, flowers diameter is 3.5 centimeters.

Sam Benham

High one and a half meter variety of the New Belgian aster with white flowers. Late September flowering allows you to enjoy the beauty of flowers until the cold.

Royal blue

The light blue aster flowers of this variety are quite large (up to 4 centimeters). The bright yellow core and semi-double inflorescences look very elegant in the autumn garden. The bushes are high - up to 120-130 centimeters, the plant blooms in September, the flowering period is 45 days.

Sunset

Another popular variety of the New Belgian aster with a voluminous tall bush and flowers resembling lilac-pink daisies. Blooms until late autumn. All species of this plant are distinguished by ease of cultivation and unpretentiousness, small flowers are located so densely that foliage is not visible. Bushes are beautiful in the garden, flowers look great in a vase, and daisy lovers can simply return to summer.

Flower reproduction

Belgian aster can be propagated by seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. It takes root well and grows quickly with minimal care.

Seed propagation

This is a complex and time-consuming method, therefore it is rarely used by gardeners, besides, varietal plants are not propagated in this way. Use seedless and seedling planting methods. When sowing in open ground, planting is carried out in November-December, in prepared beds.Before that, the purchased seeds are kept in the refrigerator for a week, and then placed in warm water for a couple of hours.

Seeds are placed in small depressions, watered with warm water and covered with soil. In the spring, after the appearance of the first leaves, the plant should dive. With this planting method, the New Belgian aster begins to bloom in 2-3 years.

The seating method provides faster results. Seeds are prepared in the same way as for seedless sowing. They are placed in special containers filled with soil. The best composition for asters is a mixture of sand, humus, peat and turf. Pre-water it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Boxes with seeds are kept at a temperature of +20-25 °С until the first leaves appear, then the seedlings are dived and placed in a cooler place - +15 °С. Plants are planted in open ground after 2 months.

Dividing the bush

This is the easiest way to reproduce. A small bush is dug out of the ground, carefully divided and seated. Transplanted in early spring. Large bushes do not need to be dug up, they are simply divided into several parts with a sharp shovel.

Cutting

To obtain cuttings, use the upper part of the stem. Cut cuttings 5-8 centimeters long, plant them in boxes with soil. They should be covered with glass or film and periodically ventilated and watered. A month later, the cuttings take root, after which the plant can be planted in the chosen place in the garden. You can cut the New Belgian aster starting from May, throughout the summer.

Growing a plant

To grow a truly beautiful plant, you need to choose the right place to plant, carefully care for it, feed it and protect it from pests.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

In order for the plant to take root well and become a decoration of the garden, you should:

• decide on the choice of variety, taking into account the climatic features of the area;
• check the condition of the submitted samples, choose a strong he althy plant, carefully inspect it, make sure that there are no pests and diseases;
• find a place for the comfortable existence of plants.

It is better to purchase planting material in specialized stores or nurseries - you can find quality goods there.

Choosing a landing site

You should decide in advance what the New Belgian aster will be for you - an ordinary garden decoration, a hedge or a border plant. The choice of variety and planting site depends on this. The plant does not like waterlogged soils, suffers from wind and drafts.

Soil preparation

Oktyabrinka prefers light, fertile soils with a neutral pH. The selected site is dug up, the seedlings are placed at a distance of 40 centimeters from each other, since the bushes grow strongly. On acidic soils, the plant feels bad, in this case it is necessary to add wood ash to the area with flowers or lime the soil.

Fitting technology

The plot for flowers must be dug up, loosened and completely freed from weeds. Bushes do not require holes, they are planted in shallow furrows. The plant should be carefully removed from the container, for this it is preliminarily watered abundantly. It is planted in the ground, the soil is compacted, and then watered.

Flower care rules

The plant does not need any special care.

Water and fertilize

Even watering it is necessary only in a particularly dry summer; it is better to do it with warm water.

Feeding with mineral complex fertilizers is done twice: when the buds are formed and a month after that.

Loosening and mulching

The soil around the flower bushes must be regularly weeded and loosened. To prevent the formation of a dense crust that harms the plant, the soil is mulched.

Preparation of New Belgian aster for wintering

The roots of a plant that has recently been divided should be covered with spruce branches for the winter, the rest of the bushes do not need protection.

Disease and pest control

The plant may suffer from powdery mildew when the soil is waterlogged. In this case, the flower should be treated with a suitable sulfur fungicide according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Rust is another fungal disease affecting the New Belgian aster. In this case, it should be treated with Oxychum or Topaz.

The flower is affected by mites, aphids, leafhoppers, acaricides. To avoid the spread of pests, you need not to place the plants too close to each other, in a timely manner to remove dead leaves, flowers and twigs of the bush. With the onset of autumn cold weather, dig the ground under the bushes. When pests appear, immediately treat the bushes with suitable insecticides.

New Belgian aster is an unpretentious plant that even a novice gardener can grow. The main thing is to choose the right litter, and then you can enjoy bright saturated colors even on a gloomy autumn morning.

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