Garden Flowers - Annual Asters

Do you agree that annual asters are one of the prettiest summer flowers we can plant? On the other hand they take a while to bloom when planted from seed, and that turns a good many gardeners off. But there is still time to plant from seed this month if you get started right away.

There are both tall asters and dwarf asters, the latter being best for containers and borders. The tall asters are more spectacular, with big three to four inch flowers on plants that get anywhere from 2 feet to 3 feet tall. And the color range of asters is broad from shades and tints of pink through purple, blue, white, lavender and scarlet.

Alma Potschke Aster The Aster ‘Alma Potschke’, Aster novae-angliae, displays a beautiful bright neon rose pink daisy-like flower that are about quarter-sized. The flowers blooms in early fall to frost. ‘Alma Potschke’ is very attractive with a plant width of 34-40” and a height of 18-24”. It is a major attractor to butterflies and bees. ‘Alma Potschke’ is best planted in masses, borders and natural areas. Aster ‘Alma Potschke’ makes an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Professer Kippenburg Aster The Aster ‘Professor Kippenburg’, Aster novae-angliae, has beautiful vivid purple daisy-like flowers that cover the plant. The flowers are 1-2” wide with a plant width of 12-18” and a height of 18-20”. Aster ‘Professor Kippenburg’ does require full sun, but can take some afternoon shade, in a moderate soil range with good drainage that does not become extremely dry during the summer. Aster ‘Professor Kippenburgs’ make an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Purple Dome Aster The Aster ‘Purple Dome’, Aster novae-angliae, has beautiful vivid purple daisy-like flowers that cover the plant. The flowers are 1-2” wide with a plant width of 18-24” and a height of 18”. Aster ‘Purple Dome’ does require full sun, but can take some afternoon shade, in a moderate soil range with good drainage that does not become extremely dry during the summer. Aster ‘Purple Dome’ makes an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Tall aster seed takes a couple of weeks to germinate, more quickly in warm weather, and then needs another six weeks to eight weeks or so to come into bloom. Once in bloom, they'll continue to flower profusely until late fall, providing color in the garden and plenty of flowers for cutting. And it does help to cut flowers often, since that will make them continue to bloom, and spent and faded blooms should be removed.

Asters do well in full sun, best with a little afternoon shade in the high and low desert, and need good soil and an application of fertilizer once or twice during the growing season before they bloom. They need adequate water, especially when first starting out, and in hot weather. Insects aren't too much of a problem, although they sometimes attract aphids, but disease, a type of wilt, can be a problem. Most present day varieties of annual asters say they are wilt tolerant or resistant, but you shouldn't plant asters in the same place two years in a row.