Callistephus Chinensis China Aster Flower
CHINA ASTER
The China or summer aster has had a long cultural history. The originally Chinese annual has been improved in China and Japan for centuries. The single flowers became semi-double and then fully double, while the original color spectrum of white to violet was extended to include all manner of bright colors. Even the petals (ray florets) underwent all kinds of changes from ray-shaped to curled and sometimes became as thin as threads.
The natural species grows to about 32 in tall, about the same height as the cultivated varieties currently grown for cutting - the principal reason for cultivating asters. Dwarf forms are also marketed nowadays: plants that grow to a maximum height of 8 in and are used mainly in colored flower-beds and tubs. The small varieties in particular are marketed on a vast scale as bedding plants in spring.
Anyone with a liking for brightly colored bouquets can sow indoors in early spring. This is most successful if the seeds are barely covered and the germination temperature is kept low at 59-64 °F. It is also best to grow on seedlings at low temperatures (around 59 °F). In those conditions, the plants will remain compact and are less likely to suffer from the numerous fungus diseases to which China asters are particularly susceptible. You should therefore make sure your sowing medium is disinfected (for instance, by steaming it or putting it in the oven for an hour or so - never mind the smell!). Once the seedlings have come through their first test, they may be planted out in early May, preferably in full sun and in nutritive, loose, and relatively dry soil and in full sun. The low-growing varieties will then grow on without any problems, but the tall ones need supports or should be planted in places that are very sheltered from the wind. Never plant them in places where China asters were grown the previous year - that is just asking for the notorious wilt disease which causes stems and foliage to droop and subsequently wither.
Sowing directly outdoors after mid-April is possible, but in that case the plants will flower later. Some people sow in summer so that the plants will not come into flower in the greenhouse until the autumn or winter. Anyone still interested may choose from many hundreds of cultivars. Many new varieties are marketed every year. Callisthephus chinensis ‘Lilliput Scarlet’ is grown largely for cutting. The stems, which grow to about 18 in tall, are somewhat short for that purpose. The advantage is that they are sturdy and do not need supporting. ‘Lilliput Scarlet,’ however, is highly susceptible to wilt.
The Matsumoto Series includes the currently most popular flowers for cutting purposes. They are grown on a commercially huge scale and cultivation techniques make early and late flowering possible. The flowering season for China asters is determined by the number of hours of daylight. The seeds are also available to private customers. Sow them directly in the garden in April-May to provide colorful bouquets of autumn flowers. If you sow indoors earlier in the year, these summer asters will flower from early August.
The stems grow to about 28 in and need supporting, so that they will still be upright after a thunderstorm. Like autumn asters, summer asters are sometimes cultivated in wide-mesh netting sold specially for this purpose. It is suspended over the aster bed at an appropriate height, and the plants subsequently grow up through it.
China asters, including the Matsumoto Series, are grown in a huge range of colors. There are white, deep red, blue, pale yellow varieties, as well as the following cultivars illustrated on these pages: Callistephus chi-nensis ‘Matsumoto Apricot,’ Callistephus chinensis ‘Matsumoto Pink’ (pale pink), Callistephus chinensis ‘Matsumoto Pink-tipped White,’ and Callistephus chinensis ‘Matsumoto Salmon,’ just a trifle darker than ‘Matsumoto Pink.’
