I grew China asters from seeds off the rack last year, I believe they were Burpee seeds but don't hold me to that. Anyway, they germinated readily, grew on to transplant size without any problems, and were beautiful in bloom. Easy and worth a try.

Thx. Never have looked for them on the -rack-. To me, they are like peony pom-poms.

I really like the annual asters, but it's only based on growing them here and there a few years back. Hopefully someone else can add to this, but they seemed to flower later in the summer and then would basically bloom themselves to death... such as most real annuals tend to do. It's an awesome show and great for cut flowers, but mine didn't keep sending up more and more blooms like marigolds or zinnias can.

Now you have me thinking I should grow them again. I don't often see them for sale in the spring, probably because the real nice ones don't flower in their little nursery pots unless they're stunted and think they're going to die soon.

I think we need to clarify what plant we are talking about. The annual 'China Asters' are now called Callistephus chinensis. i believe that's what mxk3 is referring to. Not sure about katob. They are not in the same genus as true Asters, many of which have moved to Symphyotrychum. Neither has anything to do with Chryanthemums.

A1an, if you check under Callistephus chinensis is that the plant your are talking about? Or post a picture of your cut flowers and we can tell you what they are.

Over at Kings Mums, they are referred to as chrysanthemus. However, same species when I google pics for them, also comes up a Asters.Now, I am full circle confused

https://plantexplorer.longwoodgardens.org/weboi/oecgi2.exe/INET_ECM_DispPl?NAMENUM=31114&DETAIL=&startpage=1

Orders in. I've got some hesitation as it seems so -stalkish- but I'm growing it for the bloom I suppose..

The website shows Chrysanthemums. The genus Chrysanthemum is in the Asteraceae family. I think it is somewhat confusing to refer to the 'Aster family', although it is common practice. Aster is a genus if its own in the Asteraceae family. Neither Chrysanthemum nor Aster is a species.

I don't know what you ordered but many Chrysanthemums are bred for the cut flower market or for the show bench. Notice that the Longwood photo shows a plant under glass. Many growers keep these large flowered types under cold glass because, although they are hardy, the blooms can be destroyed by the weather. The flowers are impressive but the plants themselves are not particularly garden worthy. Which varieties did you order?

I went with 3 incurves and 2 quills.

Hagoromo , Fort Vancouver , Fort Smith. Judith Baker & Seatons Ashleigh

They advise at the beginnings of summer to pinch it down to 6 leaves. I will do that, and use the cutting to root me a new one that I will let it grow *natural*. Then I will compare how it looks from a blossom/framework standpoint if I only let them grow to just 3-4 stems / 3-4 blossoms per plant Versus just letting them grow on it's accord with maybe some pinching here and there in the earlier season to see how it bushes out.

Still got like 2 months + before the order ships. While the original goal was for it's blossom *outdoors in exposed elements*, come mid september going into october, we do get the typical noreaster rains that roll through. I don't intend to ever have a roof over them. Is it a worthwhile cause to plant them to ~try~ or am I better of cancelling, due to the exposed elements.

I'm by no means a Chrysanthemum expert but you seem have chosen large flowered cultivars generally grown as show or cutflowers. They're trained to a small number of stems and a singlebloom per stem. If you are mainly interested in producing huge flowers that's ok. But if you're looking for attractive plants for inclusion in a normal garden bed they might not be suitable. As to whether they can take your climate, I don't know. Over here large blooms can fall foul of frequent rain and can end up as a sodden mass of rotting petals. Chrysanthemum specialists do all sorts to ensure huge, unblemished blooms. They often grow them in rows on allotments like a veg crop or keep them in unheated greenhouses. The plants themselves are not much to look at. It's all about the flowers.

Indeed Floral UK. U sorta summed up how I think they were meant to be grown vs. the Original post , which was , cool blossoms, never have planted them, lets try these for 2020. However , in researching them, they are grown in a specific and purposeful way on how that bloom got there and not in a - natural hardscape sorta setting-.

Well...when I hear "asters" and "cut for the table" I think China asters...

I've always admired those obscenely large show chrysanthemums. That's a little embarrassing for someone trying to get a naturalistic garden with plants for wildlife, but I guess we all have our weaknesses. Fortunately there are no show growers around here that I know of so I'm relatively safe from that insanity.

But I did try some of the larger blooming mums and although I did nothing close to what they require for a show bloom, they were still nice enough on their own.

Since you've already got an order on the way here are some of my observations from the times I've "grown" them.

Check their bloom dates. If it's close to your frost date consider growing them in pots or having them somewhere you can protect them. It's a shame if they're coming along nicely and a hard freeze damages them. The lighter colors seem more sensitive to frost damage even at lower temps, so keep an eye on those.

Stake them. Mine are a mess because I'm lazy and mowing around the ones that flopped on the lawn is shameful. Some get pretty tall, so pinch and stake and that's a good thing.

As far as disbudding goes, obviously if I didn't stake them I never bothered much with that either. They still made great cut flowers and were a nice size for the vase.

Come to think of it I did cut up a tomato cage and supported a few of the plants.

All in all they're nearly as easy to grow as regular mums, they just usually need staking.

This is what poorly cared for ones look like. The blooms ran 3-4 inches across without special care or debudding, they could be much larger otherwise. Looking back at them a few were short enough to not need staking, it all depends on the cultivar. Some started blooming in August, others late October.