ASTER KING SIZE MIX
An annual flowering plant that grows 30 to 35" tall. The double flowers in different colors with diameter 4 to 5". It tolerates frosts to 25 °F.
Planting instructions: Before planting, soak the seeds in warm water (100-110 F). If the seeds come up, remove them. Next take a couple of grams of potassium permanganate and dissolve in warm water, stir and pour the seeds for 25-30 minutes, and then drain and rinse under running water. Air dry. Fill 2-inch-diameter seedling pots with a sterile potting mix formulated for starting seeds. Set the pots on a drainage tray if you are starting the asters indoors, or place them directly in the cold frame outside. Water the soil until moisture drains from the pot bottoms and the soil is thoroughly moistened. Sow two seeds 1/8-inch deep in each prepared pot. Mist the soil surface with water to moisten it after planting. Cover seeds kept indoors with a plastic bag to retain moisture so the pots don't require watering until after germination. Mist the soil in pots kept in a cold frame daily to retain soil moisture. The seeds sprout in about 10 days. Remove the plastic once sprouts appear. Move indoor plants to a window that receives sun all day. Monitor the temperature in the cold frame and open the lid for ventilation if the temperature climbs above 75 F. Thin the asters in each pot so only the strongest plant remains after the seedlings produce their second set of leaves. Transplant the asters to a flower bed in partial shade or full sun once the seedlings are 6 in tall and frost danger is past. Plant the seedlings at the same depth in the bed and space them approx 18 in apart in all directions.
