Astrantia

Family. Apiaceae.

Origin. Central and Eastern Europe. In its natural habitat, this flower is often located under the forest canopy - in partial shade and high humidity, and is also often found on the banks of reservoirs.

Description. Astrantia is an attractive flowering herbaceous perennial. The plants have erect shoots, abundantly branched at the base and creeping, superficially located brown rhizomes.

The leaves are green, divided into 3-7 segments of an oblong-lanceolate shape, located in a circle. The edges of the leaf segments have large teeth. The leaves on long thin petioles are collected in basal rosettes.

During the flowering period, weakly foliated, erect peduncles appear, at the tops of which inflorescences - umbrellas are formed. The inflorescences consist of several spectacular star-shaped flowers (actually flower baskets) with narrow, pointed bracts and unisexual buds collected in the middle of the inflorescences.

Interestingly, the outermost buds are male, while in the center of the basket there are both male and female flowers. Flower heads can be white, pink, lilac or red. During flowering, the plants emit a very pleasant aroma.

After the buds fade, oblong seed pods with two large seeds inside are formed.

The shape of the flower heads resembles stars or a scattering of fireworks. The scientific name consists of 2 words - "astron" or star and "antion" - opposite (here, we are talking, apparently, about the bracts).

Astrantia became famous in floriculture back in the 16th century, when it began to be grown in England. The genus has only 10 species.

Height. The height is usually from 30 to 60 cm. Dwarf varieties can remain compact and often do not exceed 15 cm, while tall ones can reach 90 cm in height.

When blooms

The flowering period is very long and begins in late spring and continues throughout the summer. The most abundant buds appear from May to July, and in the remaining months the bushes will be decorated only with individual inflorescences.

With timely pruning of flower stalks with faded buds, you can often observe repeated flowering in late summer - early autumn. The second wave is usually less abundant.

Planting and care in open ground

Both partial shade and rather dark places are suitable for growing astrantia. When grown in direct sunlight, the flowering period is shortened.

This bush does not like the sun and strong summer heat, but in deep shade it will form fewer buds. Only abundant and timely watering can help plants in an open sunny place.

The flower is extremely unpretentious, easily tolerates quite serious temperature changes and requires minimal care when grown in open ground. The ideal place would be a site illuminated by morning rays, but remaining in partial shade during the day.

How and when to plant

The seedlings are planted in the garden when the last night frosts have passed.

Some gardeners even advise postponing planting in the garden until the night thermometer shows about 10 degrees Celsius.

For planting, prepare a suitable soil area - dig up, remove weeds with roots, level the soil surface. Add a large amount of well-rotted organic matter - especially leaf humus.

If the soil contains few nutrients, then additionally add mineral fertilizers for flowering species.

Prepare planting holes, leaving a distance between them equal to 2/3 of the height of an adult plant. Manufacturers usually place information about the height of the variety on the seed packaging. On average, the distance between the holes should be at least 30 - 50 cm.

The depth and width of the holes should exceed the root ball. A few hours before planting, the flowers are watered generously or even soaked in water so that the bush can be easily removed from the pot.

Transplant the seedlings using the transshipment method, keeping the soil ball intact. The planting depth should be such that the root collar is at ground level or 1 cm below the soil surface.

Sprinkle the roots with soil in a circle and lightly compact the surface of the substrate to remove air pockets. The bushes are watered generously with warm water and protected from the sun for 5-7 days after planting.

The bases are mulched with mown grass, straw and sawdust. A layer of mulch will help keep the soil moist and slow down the development of weeds.

For 2-3 weeks, ensure that the soil remains evenly moist, but not waterlogged.

Soil 

Representatives of the genus prefer evenly moist, but not waterlogged soil. The substrate should consist of a large amount of organic matter - leaf and turf humus, light and nutritious forest soil, garden soil.

The soil should allow moisture to pass through and allow the root system to breathe, absorbing oxygen. The soil should have a slightly acidic pH.

Feeding and watering

When grown in the garden, plants will need nutrition for abundant and long flowering. Astrantia responds positively to both the use of special mineral compounds and the introduction of well-rotted organic matter. In the first year, fertilizers are not applied - the flowers will have enough of the nutrients that were added to the soil during planting.

If you can use mineral fertilizers with a high nitrogen content to feed seedlings, then for abundant flowering, you should switch to potassium-phosphorus compounds. Excess nitrogen will cause an increase in green mass, which will be detrimental to the forming buds.

Organic matter can be added in the form of well-rotted horse or cow manure, a weak solution of chicken manure or humus. The use of fresh organic matter is unacceptable - it weakens the bushes and makes them susceptible to various diseases. Top dressing is usually carried out 2-3 times per season.

The first time fertilizer is applied in the spring, when young leaves emerge from the ground, the second time is fed when the first buds form, and the last time is fertilized after flowering. The last time the flower is fed with mineral compositions with a high potassium content - this element helps to strengthen the root system and prepare it for the onset of cold weather.

Watering is carried out in the morning or evening, trying to supply water directly to the roots. It is undesirable to water during the day - moisture evaporates too quickly from the surface of the earth, without having time to penetrate into the depths.

Rainwater or well-settled warm tap water is used for watering. Repeated flowering occurs only in those specimens whose soil at the base has never dried out more than 3 - 5 cm deep.

After watering, the surface of the earth is loosened and weeds are removed. After weeding, it is also worth renewing the mulch layer.

Shelter for the winter

Adult specimens grown in the garden for 3 or more years easily survive the winter in a harsh climate without any shelter at all, provided there is snow cover.

In more northern regions, where winters are not very snowy, plants should be prepared for the onset of cold weather.

In mid-autumn, the entire above-ground part is cut to the ground. The root system is hilled up, sprinkled with a layer of soil. If strong frosts are expected, then dry fallen leaves or spruce branches, which are thrown over the area, can serve as additional shelter.

The shelter is removed after the snow cover has melted in the area.

Transplant

Astrantia will feel good in the same area for about 10 years. After this period, the bushes will become too large, will grow foliage and will bloom less luxuriantly. Such specimens are transplanted to a new location, combining this process with division.

If you just need to transplant the flower to a new location, it is better to do this by transshipment. Transshipment is carried out in early spring, with the appearance of the first young leaves or after full flowering, in September.

A hole is prepared for planting. The plant is dug up in a circle, gradually deepening under the roots. The bush is taken out of the ground and transferred to a new location.

Gentle transshipment allows for minimal damage to the root system, the plants quickly adapt to the new location and begin to grow.

After transplanting, the bushes are watered abundantly and on time, and also protected from direct sunlight for a week. Specimens transplanted in cloudy or even rainy weather take root best. Flowering bushes tolerate transshipment the worst.

Pruning

To maintain an attractive appearance and to encourage the plants to form new buds, it is worth removing wilting inflorescences in a timely manner. Individual flower heads can be pinched by hand, and the flower stalks can be cut with a sterile and sharp garden tool - a knife or pruning shears.

After such pruning, the bushes begin to grow new leaves and often even form new flower stalks for re-flowering in the fall. In addition, removing the flower stalks will prevent uncontrolled reproduction of astrantia by self-seeding.

Often after rain, having absorbed moisture, the buds become heavy and droop, threatening to break the shoots. To prevent the shoots from breaking, they are tied to a stable support.

Application in landscape design

Astrantia, in addition to its attractive appearance, has another very pleasant feature. The bushes are able to develop and form buds in conditions that few people would like - for example, in rather dark corners of the garden. Plants can be placed under trees and tall shrubs.

Tall varieties should preferably be planted in the center of attention - in a flower bed or flower garden. Low-growing ones are planted closer to the edge, as an edging of a flower bed or garden path. When grown in the center of a flower bed, such specimens will simply get lost.

Currently, several variegated varieties have been bred, which will remain the main decoration of the garden even after full flowering. The leaves of such plants have longitudinal white or yellow stripes on the leaves.

When grown in the garden, astrantia with its long and abundant flowering, as well as floral aroma, will attract many useful insects to the site - for example, butterflies and bees. The bushes are excellent honey plants.

Flowering shoots are often used for cutting and they decorate rooms for a long time, standing in a vase with water. The stems are cut early in the morning or in the evening, at an acute angle, using a garden knife. Using secateurs is not advisable - it can squeeze the conducting vessels, and the inflorescences will wither faster. Since even after flowering, the bracts remain on the plants for a long time, the shoots can also be used as dried flowers. In order for them to decorate the interior for a long time, shoots with half-opened inflorescences are cut and hung upside down in a warm and ventilated place, away from sunlight.

Reproduction

Astrantia reproduces generatively - by sowing seeds in the ground or at home into seedlings, as well as vegetatively - by dividing large adult plants.

Growing from seeds

For this method of propagation, you can also use seeds collected by yourself, but the result may surprise you. Daughter bushes can be strikingly different in appearance from the mother bushes - their flowering will be weak and short-lived, and the shades of the buds will be faded.

To improve germination, seeds should be subjected to preliminary cold stratification. This problem can be solved by winter sowing in open ground - this way stratification will occur naturally.

When growing seedlings or spring sowing, seeds are placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 months, after sprinkling them with a small amount of barely damp river sand and placing them in small bags.

Scarification also improves germination - damage to the hard outer shell of the seed with sandpaper, but this should be done extremely carefully, trying not to touch the rudiments of sprouts located inside the seed.

Over time, germination decreases, and the germination time increases. When grown in the garden, small bushes formed by self-seeding can often be seen under adult specimens.

The first buds will appear in plants grown from seeds approximately in the third year of life.

Seed collection

To harvest seeds in spring or early summer, it is worth marking the very first and largest flower heads by tying them with colored threads. After flowering and as the seed pods form, wait for them to fully ripen.

When ripe, the seed pods will become dry and brown - they are separated and the seeds are extracted. The planting material is laid out in a warm and dry place to dry for 2-3 days. You can put the seeds on a sheet of paper.

The prepared planting material is collected in paper envelopes and stored in a dry and cool room until sowing. Since freshly collected seeds have the highest germination rate, it is recommended to sow them almost immediately after collection - in October, so that the first shoots do not have time to appear before the onset of winter.

Sowing

Sowing is carried out in early March. Pre-prepare seedling boxes with transparent lids and drainage holes in the bottom.

The first layer is laid with a moisture-removing material - for example, expanded clay, pieces of polystyrene foam or river pebbles. Fill the containers with a mixture of peat, leaf humus and river sand, as well as perlite or vermiculite for better drainage of moisture after watering.

The soil surface is thoroughly moistened with a fine sprayer. The seeds are laid out and sprinkled with a layer of soil about 3 mm high, then sprayed again.

The seedlings are covered with a lid to create a greenhouse effect or covered with polyethylene film on top. Leave the boxes in a warm and well-lit room with diffused light, but without direct sunlight. The air temperature during this period should be 20 - 22 degrees Celsius.

Caring for seedlings

Every day, the transparent lid of the box is removed and the crops are aired, and when the first shoots appear, the cover is removed completely.

If there is insufficient sunlight for growing seedlings, artificial lighting with LED lamps or special phytolamps is used.

As they grow, weak shoots are cut with scissors, the crops are thinned out and a distance of about 5 cm is left between the bushes. The surface of the substrate is sprayed, keeping it evenly moist.

When 2-3 true leaf blades are formed, picking is carried out. The seedlings are carefully transferred to separate cups or flower pots, trying to keep the earthen lump at the base intact.

When the flowers adapt to the new conditions, the first feeding is carried out - a very weak solution of mineral nitrogen fertilizer is added. At this time, it is already worth thinking about hardening the seedlings.

Before planting in the garden, the plants are gradually acclimated to new conditions over 10 days. To do this, the cups are left outside for some time during the day. Gradually, the period of stay in the fresh air is extended.

Division 

Adult specimens aged 4 years or more can be divided into several parts. Division is carried out every 5 years for rejuvenation. This method of propagation allows you to get plants that fully preserve the declared varietal characteristics of the mother bushes.

Division is carried out in early spring, as soon as signs of growth appear, or in the autumn months, after full flowering. It is worth remembering that you cannot postpone division in the fall - the divisions must have time to take root well in a new place before the first frost. Division is usually carried out in September.

The bushes are dug out of the ground, the root system is shaken off from the remains of the soil. If necessary, rotten or old roots are cut off with a sharp garden knife, leaving only healthy tissue.

To dry and disinfect, sprinkle the wounds formed as a result of pruning with crushed coal powder or wood ash.

Divide the plants with a knife or pruning shears, sprinkle the wound surface with coal powder. The resulting cuttings must have their own, well-developed root system and above-ground part.

The flowers are planted in a permanent place and are abundantly watered for 5-7 days and protected from direct sunlight. The cuttings bloom for the first time after 2-3 years.

Diseases and pests

Most often, plants suffer from diseases and invasions of harmful insects due to improper care and inappropriate conditions. Strong and healthy specimens are able to independently withstand various adversities and rarely get sick.

Cloudy and cool weather with high humidity and insufficient air movement contributes to the development of many fungal diseases - such as powdery mildew.

Pests attack flowers also extremely rarely. With the help of astrantia, you can even scare away some harmful insects from the area - for example, slugs and snails do not like the presence of a flower. Sometimes leaf miners and aphids settle on bushes. 

Varieties and types:

Astrantia major

 The most common perennials in floriculture, the vast majority of modern garden plants are bred on the basis of this species. The bushes reach 60 - 80 cm in height, forming green, carved leaves collected in basal rosettes. During the flowering period, which begins in June, they decorate themselves with numerous inflorescences consisting of flower heads with a diameter of 2 - 3 cm.

Astrantia Ruby Cloud

 A characteristic feature of the variety are bright flower baskets of a reddish-burgundy hue. Blooming buds are darker in color; the tips of the bracts may remain green. The height of the bushes can reach 70 cm, flowering lasts throughout the summer months.

Ruby Wedding

 The light green leaf blades of plants of this variety contrast perfectly with the dark, brownish burgundy flower heads. Flowering is abundant and occurs in early summer. The bushes reach a height of 60 - 90 cm.

Astrantia major Primadonna

 Tall plants with weakly branched thin shoots. A characteristic feature of the variety are bright, large flower heads, painted pink or burgundy. The diameter of flower baskets can reach 4 cm. The height of the perennial is about 60 cm, flowering occurs in summer.

Astrantia large Venice

 The bushes of this variety, which bloom in June, are decorated with numerous burgundy or even lilac inflorescences. As they fade, the shade of the buds changes to a lighter one. Plant height reaches 50 - 60 cm.

Astrantia major Roma

 Exquisite perennials with delicate, pinkish flower heads borne in large umbels. The flowering is very lush and long lasting. The beauty of the flowers is emphasized by the dark green, segmented leaves. Plant height is 45 - 60 cm.

Astrantia Sunningdale Variegated

 The main decoration of this perennial is not the flowers, but the leaves. The bushes reach a height of 60 cm and have large, variegated leaves with a thin light border along the edge of the segments. During the flowering period, which begins in the summer months, the bushes form soft pink or light lilac flower heads.

Astrantia Hadspen blood

 One of the brightest varieties with dark-colored burgundy or even purple inflorescences. The plants are distinguished by their abundant and long-lasting flowering, and also by the fact that even in adulthood they remain compact in size and do not exceed a height of 30 - 35 cm.

Astrantia Snow Star

 Plants of this variety are characterized by a very delicate appearance - white inflorescences are surrounded by translucent bracts with greenish tips. These bushes can reach a height of 80 cm, and they will form the first buds in June.

Astrantia Pink Pride

 Perennials of this variety probably have the brightest inflorescences, colored pink. The bushes reach a height of 60 cm. The flowering period begins in early summer.

Carniolian Astrantia

 Species plants that are quite rare in gardening, reaching a height of 45 cm. Flower baskets reach 2 - 3 cm in diameter, and are distinguished by the presence of very narrow and long bracts. The leaves are openwork, dark green, the leaf blades are glossy.

Astrantia Rubra

 The variety was bred on the basis of astrantia Carniola. The plants are flowering perennials, reaching a height of 80 - 90 cm. The leaf blades are emerald green, the inflorescences are painted in a rich pink hue.

Astrantia minor

 These flowering perennial herbaceous plants reach a height of 15 - 30 cm and have a very airy appearance due to tall and thin flower shoots. Flower baskets are collected in very loose umbrellas and are often painted white.