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Author Topic: asters???  (Read 2602 times)

Offline pembroke

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asters???
« on: October 07, 2013, 06:44:54 pm »
I see so many asters on my PC not knowing which to have for my bees. What kind of asters do you have? Need name or close up picture please. Pembroke

Offline danno

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Re: asters???
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2013, 08:55:48 am »
Until you asked this I had know idea but there are 600 different ones.   Ours grow wild everywhere around here.   They look like small daisies and grow in large patches.  We have white ones and purplish/pink ones.  They are very hardy and last a long time.   We also have a small yellow wild snap dragon that is flowering now and the bee's are working them.   

Offline tefer2

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Re: asters???
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2013, 09:29:52 am »
Danno, don't forget to add that Aster nectar crystallizes faster than anything they collect in the fall. This is why we take our honey before they bloom.
They're still going strong in my neck of the woods too.

Offline Sparrow02

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Re: asters???
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2013, 10:20:20 am »
I am new to beekeeping and to this forum, this is a pic of what white asters look like. the was taken this morning and the grass her is wet from the dew.
hope this helps.

Lori


http://s827.photobucket.com/user/sparrow02/media/IMG_20131008_081357_zps2153ccc9.jpg.html
« Last Edit: October 08, 2013, 10:45:00 am by Robo »

Offline Bee Curious

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Re: asters???
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2013, 12:37:26 am »
I have a dark blue-purple aster that looks something like this:



This photo is a variety called Purple Dome.  Mine is about 4' high and about 4' wide.  We cut off half last fall and planted in what was to be my beehive area, and that one is about 3' high and 3' wide.  They just grow like crazy and all the pollinating insects flock to it as soon as it opens.  I find more bumblebees than honeybees on it, though. 



Offline mdax

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Re: asters???
« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2013, 02:52:27 pm »
We've got Bushy Asters blooming all around here, my entrances are stained yellow with all the pollen!


Offline pembroke

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Re: asters???
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2013, 01:18:59 pm »
Wow!!! I never realized so many asters. I think the one I remember was bluish/purplish and the bees were all over it. Thanks for all the replies. Pembroke

Offline JPBEEGETTER

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Re: asters???
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2013, 11:58:04 am »
Here are my asters, we didn't cut them back last year , so they outdid themselves. Going to separate them next spring and move the ones pulled up, so will double




Offline JPBEEGETTER

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Re: asters???
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2013, 12:12:48 pm »
Here is a close-up of them. Don't know name of them were given to me. But bees like them.








Offline greenbtree

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Re: asters???
« Reply #9 on: October 15, 2013, 10:07:36 am »
The darker purple ones (most common color, although they also come in lavender, wine, and pink) with the slightly larger flowers are called New England Aster, although their range is far greater than New England.  The small light lavender ones are probably Calico Aster. The small white ones are so many species that look so similar that you would need a botanist to identify them.  Asters are easy to propagate, you can dig up a clump, split it vertically with a knife or sharp shovel and replant the parts.  Seed can be gathered, pressed into the soil, or very lightly covered.  Do it this Fall, and Winter will stratify the seed as nature intended.  Just don't expect flowers from seed the next year, it takes a year at minimum for the plant to gain enough size to bloom.  Bees really go for the New England ones. Here is a great site with pictures of flowers and identifications, many apply to areas outside of Tennessee -  http://www.easttennesseewildflowers.com

JC
"Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken, or life about to end.  No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend, like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again!"

Offline JPBEEGETTER

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Re: asters???
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2013, 12:00:21 pm »
The asters are not the only thing left to interest the bees, I still have Zenia's blooming and the bees are interested in them also. I took these pictures this morning.  JPP






even the carpenter bees like them.