White Wood Aster

After back filling and lightly compacting the 50/50 mix of existing soil and compost give the Aster Divaricatus a good deep watering. This is not to be rushed. Most of the water you put on the plant at first will run away from the plant until the soil is soaked. A general rule of thumb is to count to 5 for every one gallon of pot size. For example a one gallon pot would be watered until you count to 5 a three gallon pot would be 15 and so on. Check the plant daily for the first week or so and then every other day there after. Water using the counting method for the first few weeks.

Feeding your plants is probably the single most forgotten part of growing healthy long lasting plants. We recommend feeding your Aster divaricatus in the very early spring and again in mid summer after all new growth has hardened off and it begins to set flower buds. Espoma Bio-tone starter fertilizer is the best product to use at the time of planting. Our ideal fertilizer schedule for you to use is as follows. Apply an early spring fertilizer with a product such as Espoma Plant-Tone at the recommended rate this will give the plant a boost of nitrogen potash that will be needed for healthy foliage and stem growth. Follow this up with another early summer application of Espoma Flower-Tone, this will again provide the necessary nutrients to promote a flush of beautiful flowers. Espoma products are easy to use, just sprinkle around the base of the plant and water it in. Be careful with products such as miracle-grow as these products can burn newly planted plants when not used at the recommended rates. Slow-release fertilizer can help prevent rapid soft growth that is vulnerable to diseases and insects.

We highly recommend that you mulch your Aster divaricatus with either a ground hardwood mulch or a ground cypress mulch depending on your local availability. Any type of mulch will do but cypress or hardwood mulch will be of a higher quality and provide better nutrition overall as they breakdown. Mulching helps to keep weeds away which will compete with your new investment for water and nutrients. A 2 to 3 inch layer of mulch is sufficient but remember to take care not to cover any part of the stem of the plant with mulch. Its better to leave a one inch gap of space between the mulch and the stem or base of the plant.

Remove the old flowers of Aster divaricatus as they become brown and unattractive. This procedure, called deadheading, encourages the woodland aster plant to produce new flowers, keeping your plant looking attractive throughout the season. Deadheading also prevents Aster divaricatus from spreading through your yard, as it can be an effective self-seeder when the dead flowers are allowed to dry completely and go to seed this would cause problems for your garden as the seedling would not be Aster divaricatus. Remove the brown stems and leaves to give your plant a healthier and more attractive appearance. Cut back Aster Divaricatus to within 6 inches of the ground after it has finished flowering. In colder climates, cut it back as one of the last chores in your garden before the snow flies. In warmer climates, cut it back in the spring before it begins to bud. Cutting back will promote new growth, giving you a healthier plant with stronger stems.

Nursery pot sizes are called gallon sizes. You’ll see one-gallon, two-gallon, etc. This can be misleading to gardeners as a one-gallon pot would lead you to believe that the pot would hold one gallon of milk. This is not the case. Gallon is just a term of reference leftover from the days of nurseries growing plants in metal containers.

• 1-gallon (#1) pot for example, can hold 3 quarts of soil yet they are still considered a 1-gallon pot.
• 2-gallon (#2) pot holds 1.5 gallons of soil
• 3-gallon (#3) pot holds 2.9 gallons of soil
• 5-gallon (#5) pot holds 4.9 gallons of soil

What you actually should be concerned with is the dimensions of the pot rather than capacity because let’s face it the size of the hole you dig is dependent on the dimensions, not the capacity.

These are approximate measurements and dimensions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but all dimensions fall in the following specifications.

• 1 Gallon Pot - 6.5 to 7.5 inches wide by 7 to 8 inches deep
• 2 Gallon Pot - 8.5 to 9.5 inches wide by 8 to 9 inches deep
• 3 Gallon Pot - 10.5 to 11.5 inches wide by 9.5 to 10.5 inches deep
• 5 Gallon Pot - 12 to 13 inches wide by 11 to 12.5 inches deep

These are approximate measurements and they do vary from supplier to supplier.