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Astra heather is a perennial that is very popular in the United States and Canada, grows freely in nature. In Our Country, the flower is not common. The plant is valued by gardeners for its decorative appearance, frost resistance and unpretentiousness.
Description of the ground cover heather aster
The plant belongs to the Asteraceae family. The culture is characterized by strong, well-branched shoots, reaching 70-100 cm in height. Outwardly, the flower resembles a shaggy shrub.
The upper leaf plates of the heather-shaped aster are small in size, up to 1-1,5 cm in length, needle-shaped, arranged alternately. Their color is dark green. The lower leaf plates grow up to 6 cm in length, spatulate.
Flowering in most varieties of perennial ground cover heather aster continues throughout autumn: from September to November. The buds have a pleasant aroma and a variety of colors: light purple, white or blue with a brown center.
A wild-growing aster has small flowers, white or pinkish.
The family is characterized not only by frost resistance, but also by the ability to withstand temperature fluctuations. Plants are not afraid of spring frosts, periods of drought.
The culture is characterized by rapid growth in width, which requires the construction of a restriction. If the branches are not tied up, they gradually lean downwards. Young shrubs have a spherical shape. Designers use this characteristic feature to create various landscape compositions from shrubs.
After flowering, flat-shaped seeds are formed. Since the heather aster buds form in the autumn months, the seed does not have time to ripen. This characteristic feature forces gardeners to abandon the propagation of heather aster seeds.
Varieties of creeping heather aster
The cultivation of the plant began in 1732. Breeders have developed many hybrids that differ in bud color and shrub size. The principles of planting and caring for varieties of heather small-flowered aster are similar.
Pink Clou (Pink cloud)
The decorative properties of the flower persist throughout the summer and autumn months.
The shrub grows up to 30-40 cm in height, has a spherical shape. During the flowering period, it is strewn with small buds of a white-pink hue.
Herbstmyrthe (Herbstmirte)
The hybrid grows more than 1 m in height, is a beautiful sprawling shrub. The inflorescences are collected from small buds of white color with a lilac tint. In diameter, their size does not exceed 10-12 mm. The center of the flowers is yellow.
The heather aster blooms for 1,5 months, the first buds form at the beginning of September
Snow flurry (Snow avalanche)
The heather aster shrub is undersized: no more than 10 cm in height. The plant grows rapidly on the soil, strewn with white buds so densely that outwardly the flower seems to be covered with a snow-white veil. Flowering lasts from September to November.
Often, landscape designers prefer to plant heather aster on rocky hills so that the branches descend beautifully, resembling a snow avalanche.
Blue Star (Blue Star)
This variety of heather aster looks unusual: a shrub of medium height, up to 70 cm in length, has squat branches with needle-like leaf plates. Outwardly, the plant looks like heather or dwarf conifer. Inflorescences appear in September and wither at the end of October. The color of the buds of the heather groundcover asters is pale blue with a purple tint and a yellow core. Often the photo does not convey the beauty of the shade of the variety.
Heather aster is suitable for a single planting on the site or in groups, but gardeners grow the plant in containers
Lady in Black (Lady in Black)
Small-flowered autumn aster reaches 120 cm in height. Under the weight of the flowers, the branches fall to the ground, so the plant looks like a groundcover. The color of the buds is milky white, the core is pinkish brown.
Heather aster has good immunity, is not afraid of pests. Prefers sunny areas.
The variety looks great in composition with astilbe, bonnard verbena, bright daffodils or tulips
The variety looks great in composition with astilbe, bonnard verbena, bright daffodils or tulips
Golden Spray (Golden Spray)
The heather aster is branched, reaches a height of 80-100 cm. The leaf plates are linear, arranged alternately. Inflorescences at asters are formed from September to October. In diameter, the bud does not exceed 1 cm. The flowers are white, but with a bright golden core.
During the planting of heather groundcover asters, they try to place other drought-resistant crops nearby: liatris or solidago, so that the group will delight in flowering until late autumn.
Variety Golden splashes is frost-resistant, prefers sunny places and fertile soils.
Reproduction of the ground cover heather aster
Despite the fact that the plant can be propagated by seeds, this method is rarely used: it is difficult to collect seed due to the characteristics of flowering.
If this method is suitable for the gardener, then one of the options should be used:
- before the first frosts, carefully cut off the aster inflorescences and lay them out in a thin layer on a sheet of paper on the windowsill;
- in autumn, dig up the bush and transplant it into a pot, and then bring it home, where to provide it with lighting and a temperature of 18-20 ° C.
These methods of obtaining seeds are imperfect: the material has a low level of germination.
You can get good crops if you collect the seeds as follows: pick the buds 50-60 days after the start of flowering, dry, then collect the material. But this method is practically not feasible: frosts will not allow the seeds to ripen.
More often, gardeners prefer the propagation of heather aster by dividing or planting cuttings.
The procedure is carried out in the fall according to the following algorithm:
- Dig up the root.
- Divide it into several parts, preserving the integrity of the root system as much as possible.
- Place the stakes in prepared holes and cover with soil, water.
If, when dividing a plant, damage the roots or separate a share with a weak rhizome, then heather aster may not take root
To increase the chances of a shrub to survive, it is recommended to cover it for the winter, as a weakened flower may not withstand frost.
The process of reproduction by cuttings is long: the green shoot is rooted in June, having previously treated it with Kornevin. To do this, it is placed in the ground and covered with a plastic bottle.
Within 30 days, the heather aster stalk should take root. After that, it should be ventilated periodically throughout the winter so that it gets used to the ambient temperature. In the spring, the stalk is transferred to open ground. Flowering will be in the second year.
Application in landscape design
Ground cover is a feature of the plant, for which landscape designers are ready to forgive the aster for late flowering. It is used for landscaping plots, parks and gardens. The shrub spreads beautifully along the ground, looks decorative even before flowering.
Undersized varieties of heather asters are well combined in group compositions in flower beds with representatives of conifers, as well as irises, cloves
Tall hybrids are preferably planted close to rudbeckia or ornamental yarrow.
Heather asters also look worthy in single plantings: shrubs are preferably placed in flowerpots or planted along paths
Planting and caring for a groundcover heather aster
All varieties have similar planting principles: sowing seeds, transplanting into open ground. The abundance of shrub flowering and the duration of its life depends on compliance with the rules of agricultural technology and the choice of a place.
Deadlines
If a decision is made to use the seedling method, then the seeds are sown in February-March. If the material is planned to be planted immediately in open ground, then the timing is adjusted: the procedure is carried out in May or late autumn, before the onset of frost.
Site selection and preparation of soil
In the shade, the plant weakens and is attacked by pests and diseases. More abundant flowering in varieties planted in a place open to sunlight.
Heather aster grows safely on sandy or clay soil.
The soil is prepared in the fall, dug up, mineral fertilizers are applied – potassium salt, superphosphate.
In the spring, the soil under the bed for heather aster is loosened, weeds are removed, and they are carefully shed.
Landing algorithm
Seeds should be planted in open ground as follows:
- form a bed;
- deepen the seeds 1 cm into the ground;
- water the soil;
- mulch the bed, distributing a thin layer of compost over the surface.
If you moisten the soil in a timely manner, then shoots of heather aster appear on the 8-10th day
When the sprouts get stronger, thinning is carried out, keeping a distance of 15 cm between specimens.
If planting is required in the fall, then the material is sown in frozen soil, covered with a layer of compost on top. Shoots will appear in the spring.
Heather Aster Aftercare
The shrub is unpretentious. In one place, it is able to grow and bloom profusely for 5 years.
Care principles:
- regular but moderate watering;
- top dressing three times a season, in spring, when buds appear and after flowering ends (mineral and organic flower mixtures);
- loosening the soil and removing weeds;
- timely removal of wilted buds and leaf plates.
Since the heather aster is frost-resistant, it does not need shelter. Preparation for the winter period consists in pruning the above-ground part of the shrub.
Plant shoots should protrude above the ground by 20-30 cm in height
Pests and diseases
The perennial has a strong immune system. Only poor care or climate, prolonged rains or other cataclysms can weaken it.
The nematode and spider mite are capable of harming heather aster. To destroy them, the plant is irrigated with an insecticide solution: Actellik, Akarin, Fitohit, Chlorpicrin, Neoron.
Heather aster growing in the shade is more often attacked by fungal pathogens. One of them is powdery mildew.
When a white coating appears on the leaf plates, the shrub should be treated with copper sulphate
Rust can move from coniferous crops to heather aster. To determine it, you need to examine the underside of the leaf of the plant: brown pustules will be present on it. Gradually, the leaves curl and fall off.
As a therapeutic measure, all affected parts of the shrub should be removed, the plant itself should be irrigated with fungicides, spill the ground around
Among serious diseases, heather asters can be affected by gray rot. To determine it, they inspect the plant, it changes color to brown, begins to rot and becomes covered with a smoky shade.
The treatment of shrubs from rot is carried out by irrigating the perennial with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture for 30 days with an interval of 10 days, and all affected parts are removed and burned
The main methods of prevention are competent care. The main reasons for the appearance of diseases are waterlogging of the soil, planting heather aster in the shade.
Conclusion
Heather aster is an unpretentious, but surprisingly beautiful perennial. It is characterized by late flowering, good frost resistance. Hybrids are used both for single plantings and for creating group compositions.
