China Aster – Callistephus chinensis

Common Name: China Aster, Matsumoto, Rainbow Aster, Aster

Botanical Name: Callistephus chinensis, ka-LIS-te-fus chin-EN-sis

Decorative Life: 6-10 days.

Flower Color: Blue, Pink, Purple, Red, White, Yellow

Availability: Year Round

Harvest when flowers are fully open.

32-38F.

• The botanical name means “beautiful crown” in Greek and refers to the showy, solitary flower heads. Also said to be the character of the developing fruit.
• In some of the more showy cultivars, the inner disk flowers are replaced by ray flowers resulting in a doubled flower appearance.
• The Compositae or aster family is vast, with over 20,000 species, and is also one of the most developed families. It was named Compositae because the flowers are actually a “composite” of many individual flowers into one head. Hence, when children pull one “petal” off at a time, saying “she/he loves me, loves me not”, they are actually removing a complete flower, not just a petal.
• Leaves often wilt before flowers. Keep solution clean.
• Flowers should be harvested when they are fully open.