Newbie gardener Aster question

I am soooo new to gardening and I am fast falling in love with it! Anyway, I obtained several Aster plants. The blooms are gorgeous. However, each bloom is starting to "droop" as if their heads are too heavy for their delicate necks. Is this an indication that I need to deadhead the blooms? Or, do you even pinch them off at all?

I just need some advice on how to keep them going and do they need to be kept moist or do I let them dry out between watering? By the way, I have 5 of them in a rectangular container which provides plenty of room...planted in a good potting soil.

This is my first post so I thank you so much!

Cissy

Hi Cissy, welcome! Before you know it, you'll be addicted to gardening (and this website) like the rest of us! If they're wilting like that, it may mean they need more water. Or else they're getting too much water, the symptoms are similar. Before you water them more though, I would check if they perk back up at night or not. We've had some pretty warm temperatures the last couple days, so some plants will wilt during the heat of the day as a defense mechanism, but then perk up again at night. If that's what's happening, then they don't need more water. If they're not perking back up at night, try sticking your finger down an inch or two into the soil and see if it still feels wet--if it's feeling pretty wet then you've probably been watering them too much and you should back off on your frequency, but if it feels dry then it means you probably need to water them more.

Thank you ecrane. I suspect I have neen watering too much then. I've been keeping them moist (yikes) :) Oh, and no, they don't perk up at night or early morning at all. I wonder if I should move the container to get more sun. They have partial sun, then shade.

Should I pinch off the drooping blooms in the meantime?

I am already getting addicted to this site! LOL
Thanks again.

Cissy

You can definitely pinch off the blooms if you want, but it's not going to really make a difference overall with the condition of the plant. They do like sun, but since they're stressed right now from having too much water, I'd let them dry out and perk back up first, then it's best to expose them to more sun gradually, otherwise the leaves can get sunburned. If your soil is really wet, it is probably best to take them out of the container, dump out the old wet soil (shake as much as you can off the roots), then repot them and don't water them as frequently moving forward. The longer you leave them sitting in the current wet soil where fungus is already starting to grow, the less likely they are to recover from the experience. When you repot them and water them, try adding a bit of dilute hydrogen peroxide or chamomile tea to the water, these will help kill any fungus that may be left behind.

Wow, good idea! Thanks so much, ecrane3. I will do it :)

Cissy