Growing Fusarium-Resistant Cut Asters
Many growers are afraid to grow asters seedlings due to the frequent disease of plants with fusarium wilting. Of course, this disease is quite common, but experienced specialists know how to prevent the death of flowers and are happy to share their knowledge with novice growers.
Preventive measures to prevent fusarium
To reveal fusarium at an early stage of seedling development is extremely difficult. Most often, obvious signs of the disease appear already at the stage of budding asters: a beautiful healthy bush suddenly becomes covered with brown spots and quickly fades, turning into a dried broom.
In order for asters to avoid such a fate, it is necessary:
- plant plants in a new place annually, avoiding long-term cultivation of asters in one area;
- in case of a manifestation of the disease, abandon the cultivation of asters for the next few years in order to reduce the amount of dangerous fungi in the soil;
- avoid feeding asters with fresh organic fertilizers.
The most effective measure for the prevention of fusarium disease is the cultivation of aster varieties that are resistant to this disease.
What are the best asters to grow for cutting?
There is a wide variety of aster species, which are intended for cutting and are also highly resistant to fusarium. When choosing a specific variety, you can be guided by both the color scheme and the general appearance and structure of the plant.
Some of the most commonly grown and popular varieties for cutting are the following types of asters:
- Flamir... It has rather dense petals and a hard stem. It grows quickly, it can reach a height of 70 cm. It blooms in the middle of summer, the inflorescences are large, full, resemble a peony. The color, depending on the variety, can be either one-color or two-color (for example, white-blue or white-pink).
- Matsumoto... A series of Chinese asters growing in a bush abundantly strewn with small, but full inflorescences. The color can be very different, however, all varieties of this species are characterized by a yellow center in the flowers, which makes them look like chamomile, especially in the white variety.
- A princess... A series of asters with a dense flower consisting of two types of petals. Along the edge of the inflorescences, ligulate petals are located, slightly curved downward, and behind them are needle-like ones, decreasing in size towards the center of the flower. In unopened buds, the needles-tubes are yellow, but as they bloom, they acquire a basic color, depending on the particular variety.
- The Dragon... Large double inflorescences are distinguished by long, curved in the center, petals, which makes asters a bit like chrysanthemum.
And one more tip: when growing asters for cutting, it is better to select varieties with a juicy and rich color, a strong peduncle and high enough (at least 80 cm).