Grow Aster Flower for a Majestic of Fall Colors

The glory of the fall garden, asters range in height from six tall to just above the ground. Colors are shades of purple, lavender, pink, red blue and white. They are hardy, the plants tend to be very vigorous, and some are even invasive. Most garden hybrids are derived from one of two native species. From Aster novaeangliae (New England aster) come “Harrington’s Pink” pale to medium pink and up to six feet tall, and “Alma Potschke” which is three feet tall and a strong pink. From A. novibelgii (New York Aster) come many varieties including Marie Ballard, light blue, three to four feet, and Crimson Brocade reddish pink three feet approx. Moreover Eventide purple three to four feet, Dwarf varieties include Snow Flurry which is white, and Audrey which is blue violet. A. x Frikartii is a very long blooming aster that begins flowering in summer and grows two to three feet tall.

How to Grow Aster

Well, if you want to grown Aster, then asters like moist but well drained soil and plenty of sun as well. Most from big clumps that are best divided every few years by replanting shoots from the outside of the clumps.  Tall varieties must often be staked, but the stems can be pinched early in the season to make the plants more erect as well as more compact and free flowering. This may, however, delay in bloom. With some of the dwarf varieties you must remove some plants each year to prevent them from taking over. Moreover, mulch varieties those are not winter hardy in your zone with evergreen boughs. Remove self-sown seedlings, for they will not come up the same color as the parent plant if they are hybrids and not an original species. Source: Charismatic Planet

Balloon Flower: Decorate Home and Garden

Balloon Flower or Platycodon grandiflorus is a fine old fashioned plant with flower the shape of open bells, some single and some double, in colors that are never garish blue, pink or white. It is perfect for the English garden look. It blooms in midsummer on stems that are normally two or three feet tall. Mariesii is a short blue variety with single flowers, one and half feet tall. However, shell pink is a popular pink variety and Album is white.

How to Grow Balloon Flower?

Well if you want to grow Balloon Flower, then make sure sun is preferable, but platycodon will tolerate some shade. Provide light, slightly acid, moist but well drained soil. Sandy soils are more suitable than clay. The plant forms long lived clumps that do not require division, though it may be done in spring if you dig out the long taproot very carefully. Moreover you must watch out for the shoots which are slow to emerge in spring. Don’t trample them when you are working the soil in their general vicinity. You can mark the spot in fall as a safeguard. 

 Source: Charismatic Planet

How to Grow Pulmonaria Flower

This plant used to be called “lungwort” because its spotted leaves resembled diseased lungs and, in the homeopathic tradition of folk medicine, were thus supposed to be able to cure diseased lungs. Fortunately the plant has more demonstrable virtues. It spreads vigorously by creeping rhizomes, its broad leaves make it very attractive as a ground cover planting and on top of that it bears beautiful clusters of tube shaped flowers in spring, which generally open pink and turn to blue, resulting in both pink and blue flowers in the same cluster.

Pulmonaria angustifolia is low growing under 10 inches and has leaves that are not spotted; popular varieties are Johnson Blue and the white Alba. P. saccharata, called Bethlehm sage, grows as tall as 15 inches. There’re so many gardeners whose like the variety and whose blue flowers and spotted leaves are both large and very showy. If you find you get along well with pulmonarias, there are a number of other, less familiar species worth trying.

Well, if you want to grow Pulmonaria, then you need a truly shade loving plant and will wilt in sun. Even the morning sun that mine gets makes it wilt in hot weather. Soil need not be rich, but it should be full of organic matter to help it to hold moisture. Plants are easily divided in early spring but should be watered well after transplanting. Source: Charismatic Planet