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Annual Biennial

Callistephus chinensis Duchess Series

China aster Duchess Series

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

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Ultimate height

0.5–1 metres

Time to ultimate height

1 year

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

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)

Botanical details

Family: Asteraceae
Native to the UK: 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

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