Alpine Astra (lat. Aster alpinus) – a plant adored by many professional flower growers, and just lovers. This plant, with minimal care, decorates almost every garden for years.
Often, passing some abandoned area, you can find a blooming astros, just under the thickets of bushes. What care in this case? That’s right, it is not. But still, the plant continues to grow. You need a minimum of attention, and Astra will delight your eye with your flowers. Not every plant has such qualities.
Appearance
This perennial is cultivated back in the 16th century. He is very similar to chamomile, or daisies. They come in different colors and shades: from dark to light. The flowering period is 1.5-2 months, and its beginning depends on the climate and the variety of Astra itself. They are all not afraid of cold.
Its root system is branched and reaches a length of 30 cm. The base of the branches is covered with oblong leaves. Astra bushes themselves in diameter are up to 50 cm. Thanks to this, the ground is covered with a kind of carpet, which not only decorates the garden, but also prevents the growth of weeds. In addition, the Astra bush retains moisture in the ground.
Types and varieties
Astra varieties differ in the number of flowers, colorfulness, inflorescence. Many of them are derivatives. Here are some of the most popular varieties:
Astra Alpine white – small, compact green bushes. Among the entire green gamut, white flowers are visible;
Astra Alpine white
Albrus – This is the type of alpine astra, which blooms in the spring almost the very first. Albrus bush height reaches 22 cm. These short stems in early summer begin to be covered with small dark leaves. Flowers scattered throughout the bush have a white color, with a yellow center.
Blue Astra – One of the brightest representatives of the species. Flowers have a saturated blue color, where and the name of the species. In addition, it is extremely frostresistant.
Blue Astra
Illyria – type of astra, with the largest number of coloring. Here you are blue, and white, and lilac, and even pink. Baskets are similar to chamomile. Grow up to only 20 cm, but belong to frostresistant.
Pink Astra – Another early look of astra. Its first buds appear in early May. It grows extremely quickly, so many colors of colors are. The diameter of the flower basket is about 4 cm.
Pink Astra
Blue Astra – saturated blue color, with a flower size of about 6 cm. The flowers are really large. Blue flowers, against the background of a rich green outlet formed due to leaves, look very impressive.
Blue Astra
Gloria – Blue flowers of this perennial reach 3 cm in diameter. Blooms at the end of May-June. Green 35-centimeter bush will not endure until late autumn. Great for landscape design, for example, for decorating borders.
Rosea – A bright green bush blooms in July with pink flower cups with a yellow core. Grows up to 20 cm. Great for creating various compositions in stones.
Perennial mixture – You need a composition of various shades? This species is created for you. The flowers here are large, with various bright shades.
Goliath – The heyday of the heyday falls at the beginning of summer. Its bright purple flowers are placed on low green bushes. It grows very quickly. And with the timely removal of dried parts, it will bloom much longer.
Rubert – Incredibly beautiful view of astra, with saturated red-pink petals. The height is 30 cm, which is ideal for placement near the lawn.
Super Bus – 30-centimeter bush collecting blue flowers. The diameter of baskets is not more than 3.5 cm. Like all kinds, extremely unpretentious to care.
Happy end – Astra variety that flourishes before all. Flowering continues in May-July. To extend flowering, it is necessary to remove the wilted parts. The bush itself is up to 20-30 cm.
Dunkel Schöne – Dark purple flowers on a green background look perfect. The size of the colors is up to 3 cm, and the bush itself does not exceed 25 cm in height. Against the background of early perennials, it looks very good, creating a bright spot against their background.
If you combine the use of at least 2-3 of the above varieties in your flowerbed, it will bloom continuously: from spring to autumn. You can supplement the alpine asters and other species, such as September, Belgian, English, etc.
Where it grows
This type of flowers is common in the mountains of China, as well as Europe, including the Alps, thanks to which the flower is called that. Several subspecies of asters can be found in wild forests in Canada and some parts of the West of the United States, and in Alaska.
Care
Landing
Before planting asters in the ground, you need to choose the right area. Although they are not whimsical to care, without bright sunlight they will not be able to delight you with their flowers. The soil itself needs to be loosened and fertilized, remove all weeds around, and then pour water abundantly. Plants should be deepened in the soil up to 30 cm.
Seedlings are planted in May for permanent place. At least a week before landing, it must be adapted to conditions on the street. Just take it for 1-2 days in the yard, or on the balcony.
Fertilizer
Thanks to fertilizers, the Astra will bloom for a long time and abundantly. It is advisable to fertilize the plant 3 times:
- At the beginning of the growing season;
- During the appearance of buds;
- At the peak of flowering.
Fertilizers, it is advisable to use phosphate. We recommend adding up to 3 tablespoons of superphosphate to the ground, of course, humus and slightly dolomite flour.
Alpine Astra will invariably look up to 7 years, with minimal care of it. Weeding should be carried out regularly, since the absence of sunlight can lead to fungal diseases of the plant.
Removing wilted parts from bushes, loosening the earth and regular removal of weeds, helps strengthen the root system, improve nutrition. Astra does not tolerate prolonged droughts, as a result, the flowers lose their saturation and dry out. Before frosts, the ground should be mulched with humus and remove the dried shoots.
Reproduction
The easiest way to propagate asters – vegetative. A simple division of the mother bush occurs. You dig it, clean the root system from excess soil, and divide the roots into several parts.
All these procedures are carried out with the onset of spring. Previously prepare a place to land new bushes. Then, the roots are planted in a new place.
Growing from seeds
Plant the seeds in the room so that the flower develops faster in the growing season. Sprinkle them on wet soil and tamp slightly, barely covering from the light. Expect the appearance of sprouts in two to four weeks. Plant seedlings in a permanent place after the onset of the last spring frost.
By the time Astra transplant, seedlings should form at least two leaves. Seedlings are usually covered with transparent plastic bottles, with a cut bottom. The plant should start to bloom in the second year, after landing.
Combination with other plants
It goes well with perennials in the flowerbed. Astra, rich in varieties and color palettes, allows you to create wonderful expositions in the garden, with the help of blue, white, purple, red and other shades.
Many professional landscape designers use it precisely. With the help of asters, adorn ponds, borders, lawns, or just garden flower beds. Take, for example, Dunkel Sheyon. Her dark purple petals – Ideal background for brighter analogues.
Healing properties
In addition to decorating your garden, Astra can become useful in treatment. For example, her flowers are very often used by herbalists, in cases:
- Stomach disorders;
- Zolotukhi;
- Tuberculosis;
- With dermatosis.
The workpiece is as simple as possible. The flower is cut off, dried under a canopy, in one layer, avoiding direct sunlight.
Diseases and pests
Alpine Astra is unpretentious in care and is characterized by strong immunity. Its propagation rarely leads to the spread of diseases. But excess watering, or just an unsuccessful place of landing (how to choose it, we told above), can lead to fluffs of powdery mildew, or other fungal infections. So, powdery mildew appears with rapid watering of this perennial.
This is a very contagious infection. It quickly spreads to neighboring flowers, so you need to remove it immediately. The easiest way – Removing the affected parts of Astra.
In order to prevent infection, preferably twice a year, before flowering, to treat the plant for prevention. Here the perfect option would be «Topaz». If the bushes are still sick, it is worth spraying them in the fall with a solution of copper sulfate.
There are folk methods of preventing plant diseases. To do this, use:
- Infusion on wood ash;
- Various kefir solutions;
- Laundry soap and soda mixed with water.
Red Book
The alpine Astra was listed in the Red Books of the Arkhangelsk, Kurgan, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Orenburg, Omsk regions, Komi republics, Tatarstan. In Ukraine, Highland Astra is listed in the Red Book and is protected by law, in nature to meet it very rarely.
Data
- The plant is easy to grow. Astra has low requirements for growing and care;
- Creates underground stolons, thanks to which it grows, forming loose turf;
- Flowers must be rejuvenated every 3-4 years. In spring or summer, after the flowers have faded, the plant should be dug and divided, discarding the middle, oldest part of the root. Not rejuvenated plants bloom less over time;
- In autumn, the plant should be cut close to the ground and mulch, for example, compost land;
- Among perennial asters, this is a type of fungal disease, but, like other types of this kind, is sometimes affected by powdery mildew.
