Aster flowers add colour to the autumn garden – while offering beauty with very little maintenance, blooming in late summer and autumn, whereas the Alpine Aster blooms in spring.
There are over 600 varieties of Aster and caring for them is easy, with deadheading to promote more blooms, staking and/or pruning taller types to make a bushier and more compact plant.
Growing Asters can be undertaken from seed in spring, but are most often purchased as a potted plant from garden centres.
Plant in a full sun to part-sun location, with well-drained soil. Keep new plants moist and continue watering, until the blooms cease.
When watering Asters, avoid splashing the foliage, as getting water or fertilizer on the leaves attracts a powdery mildew along with other fungal diseases.
In order to retain moisture, use an organic mulch, which will also supply nutrients to break it down. Ensure to mulch a few inches from the Aster stems, not against them. Fertilise with a general plant food, once a month.
A hardy perennial Asters will return year-on-year giving plenty of autumn colour.
