How To Care For An Aster

by DoItYourself Staff

Learning how to care for an aster can be a full-time activity, but with some basic rules of thumb, you can enjoy success and be rewarded with spectacular blossoms in a variety of colors. Planting these wonderful stars (aster is the greek name that refers to these star-shaped flowers) will uplift and brighten your fall garden. This Michaelmas daisy (another name for the flower) will produce blue, white, red, purple, pink and lavender flowers for fall. Ranging from 8 inches to almost 8 feet, these flowers make good border plants, but be careful of mildew diseases that attack them.

Propagating Asters

Asters can be grown indoors or may be sown into the garden directly (providing danger of frost is well past).
Plant in early spring, preparing gardens with a tiller to loosen soil.
Plant approximately one foot deep into a mixture of compost and garden soil.
Germination of seeds usually occurs after approximately one month.
Plant seeds in well-drained, moist soil in either partial shade or morning sun. Some varieties can be planted in full sun, but this varies, so be sure to check planting instructions.
Use of compost, peat moss or mulch will retain moisture, control weeds and ensure plants have sufficient nutrients.
Your hole for planting asters should be twice as wide and deep as the plant's container. Plant the crown of the aster even with the ground level.
Plant and thin plants to at least 18 inches apart to avoid overcrowding.
Do not attempt to divide mature plants until late fall, after flowers have finished blooming. This should be done every few years to avoid crowding of plants.
As with many other flowering plants, dead head (cut back spent flowers) to make room for newer blossoms. This will extend the health and flowering of your plants.
Be sure to dead head early on in the blooming season. Blooming will be reduced if done too late. This will also restrain unwanted reseeding which will cause plant overcrowding.
Remember, asters are prone to mildew so be careful to plant them in areas with good circulation and good sun exposure.
As with other flowering plants, do not allow water to saturate leaves. Be sure to water at the plant's roots to prevent mildew and mold. Drip irrigation and utilization of a soaker hose work very well in watering these plants.

Tips and Strategies

Asters make excellent cut flowers for your home if cut immediately after they have completely bloomed.
In addition to accenting rock gardens, asters can be grown in succession so that you have an ongoing blooming season.
Planting asters will also deter most insects in your garden. Plant them throughout your garden instead of using pesticides to control insects.
Asters will attract butterflies, which will enhance the beauty of your garden.
Unlike marigolds and similar plants, aster seedlings are unlike the parent plant and may not be desirable to allow to reproduce. Remove the flower stems to prevent this cycle from occurring.
Water asters as directed, but remember that they are considered a "drought tolerant" plant.