Callistephus chinensis Duchess Series

RHS Plant Profile
China aster Duchess Series

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Callistephus chinensis Duchess Series?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
China aster Duchess Series RHS
Annual Biennial

Duchess Series are tall cultivars, to 70cm, with fully double, incurved, chrysanthemum-like flowers in red, purple, yellow and pink from midsummer to mid-autumn

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
1 year
Max Spread
0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height
0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
West–facing or South–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H2

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Asteraceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Callistephus are bushy, upright annuals with coarsely toothed ovate leaves and large, solitary, daisy-like flower-heads, often double in cultivars, in late summer and autumn
Name Status
Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in a sheltered site in fertile, neutral to alkaline, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Likely to require staking

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown at 16°C in early spring or in situ in mid-spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Cottage and informal garden
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Patio and container plants
  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds

Pruning

Deadhead to prolong flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids and cutworms

Diseases

Prone to wilt diseases