(110 days) Open-pollinated. Annual. 2–3" flowers on long wiry stems. The pompon blooms with deeply crested centers are richly colored in shades of purple, salmon, magenta, rose and lavender. Late-blooming elegant cutflowers are unsurpassed in September. Annual. ③
Princess Mix China Aster
Princess Mix China Aster
(110 days) Open-pollinated. Annual. 2–3" flowers on long wiry stems. The pompon blooms with deeply crested centers are richly colored in shades of purple, salmon, magenta, rose and lavender. Late-blooming elegant cutflowers are unsurpassed in September. Annual. ③
Additional Information
China Aster
~450 seeds/g.
Annual. Callistephus is from Greek kallos meaning ‘beautiful’ and stephos, ‘crown.’ The common name of aster comes from the Greek astron, meaning ‘star,’ a reference to their shape and bright colors. The China Aster began its journey west around 1730 when a Jesuit missionary noticed it growing in a field near Beijing. Wildly popular by 1883 when Burpee listed 19 different classes of them compared to two each of marigold and zinnia. Good bedding plants or cutflowers.
Culture: Sow indoors at 70–72° in late winter, transplant after danger of frost. Cut stems when 2–4 flowers have opened. Vase life is 5–7 days, longer if you use a floral preservative. Aster Yellows is a serious disease problem. Use floating row covers to keep out leafhoppers, the vector.
Flowers
All flowers are open-pollinated except where noted.
Days in parentheses after a variety indicate days to first bloom.
Germination Testing
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.
Our Seeds are Non-GMO
All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.