The Star Power of Matsumoto Asters

The Star Power of Matsumoto Asters

AmericanGrown bright CAGrown Callistephus Matsumoto Asters Oxnard

Lady Aster here to talk about my namesake, the bright and lovely Matsumoto Aster. 

Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters

The Matsumoto Aster, also known as the Japanese Aster (Callistephus), features lengthy, sturdy stems topped with incredibly soft, brightly colored petals.  The long-lasting flowers come in colors of red, hot pink, pink, purple, lavender, and bi-color which surround a rich, yellow center; an arrangement reminiscent of a crown or a star.

Purple and Bi-Lavender

Matsumoto Asters are fun to grow, and unlike our tulips, irises, and lilies—which we pick while still in the bud—we let asters grow until they show full color.  Another difference between Matsumotos and the previously mentioned bulb flowers is that asters are grown from rooted seed, which requires no pre-cooling before planting, saving us time and cooler space.  

Pink Matsumoto Asters

Typically, asters are a late summer/early fall variety, but we use the mild, coastal climate of our Oxnard Farm in Southern California in combination with our carefully organized hoop house program to grow them year-round.  The warmth and light of our hoop houses encourages long stem lengths and formation of buds; when we're ready for the final period of development (flowering), we shorten the amount of time they're exposed to light.  Soon after, the buds flower, bringing their own bright light into the world.

Growing Matsumotos in Hoops

The entire growing process from seedling to flower takes approximately 10-15 weeks to complete.    We know they're ready when their stem length is at least 22-24" tall, and their blooms are showing full color.

Freshly picked Matsumotos

We also utilize the practice of crop rotation to maintain the quality of our soil as well as improve the amount of flowers we get out of every crop. Once a year we rotate our asters with another crop, and this promotes the restoration of essential nutrients in the soil.  It's hard work, but worth it for the land and our flowers.

We've been growing Matsumoto Asters now for well over a decade and our experience shows in the final product.  Our buyers love the long stems and super-bright, big blooms that come out of our Oxnard Farm, and we love the challenge of keeping the Matsumoto Market on its toes!

Harvest Time

Asters bring a cheerful vibrancy and focal punch to any flower arrangement or bouquet (and they also look amazing on their own).  Their long vase life and variety of colors make them a popular item for floral designers, wedding bouquets, and basically for any arrangement that needs a touch of bright whimsy.

Matsumoto Aster Arrangements

 What can you do with a bouquet of these bright stars?

 

A Bouquet of Stars

A Bouquet of Stars

Asters Holiday flowers Matsumoto Asters red flowers

For my part I know nothing with any certainty,
But the sight of the stars makes me dream.
                                                                         -Vincent Van Gogh

Holiday time is upon us—I’ve set up camp in Sun Valley’s shipping warehouse; a thermos of coffee in one hand and a gingerbread cookie in the other.  I’ve been able to witness the change of seasons simply through watching the colors of our fresh bouquets change from autumn’s darling oranges and yellows, to the rich December hues of red, green, and gold.

The smell of evergreen is in the air and amidst the cold, a particularly bright and happy flower has caught my eye—the Red Aster Matsumoto.

Matsumotos have long-lasting flower heads whose soft petals grow in single, double, or semi-double layers.

This vibrant flower, also known as the Japanese Aster (Callistephus) has lengthy, sturdy stems paired with layers of long-lasting, soft flowers.  And I mean soft.  Rub-your-face-in-them-soft.   I’ve taken a bouquet to brighten up my winter hovel, and its presence has inspired me to step outside and explore this cheerful flower’s origin.

This flowering plant has an incredible height range, anywhere from 10 inches to 4 feet.

The history of this long-stemmed annual is noteworthy—it is native to the eastern regions of Asia, and the name Aster hails from the Latin word for “star,” while its scientific name, Callistephus, comes from the Greek word for “beautiful crown.”  You can see why agronomists of old named it as they did—the flower’s snugly packed, thickly fringed petals that surrounds its rich, yellow center strongly resembles a star as well as a crown.  It’s enough to make me want to fashion a star-flower tiara for myself and parade around the farm, Queen of the Asters.

Matsumoto asters in various stages of bloom.

We grow these beauties in our sunny farms of Oxnard, where the naturally cool, coastal climate keeps the flowers happy and on-schedule, even during the colder months of winter.   Normally, asters are a strict late summer/early fall variety, but with our carefully organized hoop house program, our blooms are able to flourish year-round.

Unlike our bulb flowers (tulips, irises, and lilies), asters are grown from rooted seed, which requires no pre-cooling before planting.   Even without that additional cooling cycle, the entire growing process from seedling to flower takes approximately 10-15 weeks to complete. For more on how we grow Asters, see our interview with Sun Valley’s Aster Master, Gerritt.

Asters showing some color in the hoop houses of Oxnard

Asters show full color when they’re ready to be picked, providing us with some great eye candy.  Walking through the hoop houses in Oxnard, it is easy to feel lost among the sea of long-stemmed red, hot pink, pink, purple, lavender, and bi-colored blooms.

My favorite for this holiday season are the scarlet red asters—their brightly layered petals and gold centers are a cheery addition to any environment.

Freshly picked!

Asters bring liveliness and vibrancy to any flower arrangement, but they also shine brightly on their own.  Arrangement ideas include adding them to large holiday bouquets, or placing them in a tall vase on their own as a simple and happy floral piece.

So go on, check out our bouquets full of stars to brighten your day and add a touch of fun and whimsy to your holiday season.

Mother's Day ~ Let's Get It On!

Mother's Day ~ Let's Get It On!

#americangrown #LetsTalkFlowers CA Grown Dubium Matsumoto Asters Mother's Day Ornithogalum Tulips

"Let's get it on!"

When Marvin Gaye sang these immortal words he must have been thinking about Mother's Day in the floral biz.  All throughout Sun Valley, the energy level is rising and everyone is feeling the vibe. It’s going to be a wild few weeks until we hit May 12^th.  We all know Mother's Day is crazy for flower growers, but did you know it is also the single day with the most long distance calls of the year?

So what crops are we still flush with?

Matsumoto Asters, White Dubium and of course, Tulips. 

Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters

Time to celebrate MatsuMania 2013!  Our Sun Valley Matsumotos are known for their bright colors, big blooms and tall sturdy stems. The red, purple, pink and lavender colors are all coming in strong.  The weather changed just perfectly at our Oxnard farm this spring to provide us with a bumper crop.  Gerrit in Oxnard is responsible for growing this epic crop, now all of YOU need to come through and find a home for these beauties. 

Red Matsumoto Asters

I feel like Matsumotos are often one of the unsung crops of the farm.  We are known for our impressive tulip production, year round Telstar iris production and our jaw dropping lilies.   It seems these unique flowers live in the shadows.  This is not the case right now, Matsumotos are standing up, so you better take notice.  They are also bursting out of our bouquet department, have you checked out these bouquets, let us do the work for you!

White Dubium progression

Two weeks ago I wrote about Dubium Ornithogalum, imagine Star of Bethlehem on steroids.  We have an abundance of the white variety, which is perfect as a focal or in a supporting role in your Mother's Day designs.  This plant is really well known in horticulture circles, and you will often see this as a potted plant in garden centers or supermarket floral departments.  We have been getting a really positive response from our customers on this crop as a cut flower, it is definitely an up and coming "cut" flower, and will add a little spice to whatever you use it for.  One of its' outstanding qualities, is an almost freakish vase life.  These plants are native to arid regions of Africa and the Middle East. They survive three weeks and beyond, after the blooms start to open in a progression up the stem.  You could give your Mom a big bunch of these with some greenery for Mother's Day, and still be enjoying them at Father's Day!

 

"The secret of success is consistency of purpose" -Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881, British Prime Minister)

Consistency of purposesums up the Sun Valley Tulip program.  Our soil grown, greenhouse tulips maintain the highest quality year round.  We strongly believe that offering a consistent, dependable product is the key to return business.  Whether you are a wholesaler selling tulips to florists or a mass marketer selling tulips to the general public, if you sell poor a quality tulip you are poisoning your next sale.  When a customer is buying from you they are already committed to the sale, however, the next sale is what you should be thinking about.  Consistency creates return business, better relationships, and in the end, builds your customers trust.

  

Is there anything more valuable or precious in business than your customers trust?

Gambling, Flowers and the Weather

Gambling, Flowers and the Weather

Califonia grown Doug Dobecki flower farming gambling Holiday planting Iris Lane DeVries Lilies Matsumoto Asters Oxnard santa claus Tulips Valentines Day

“I don’t have to go to Las Vegas, I’m a farmer.” –Lane DeVries


While most of the nation is working on their list for Santa, stringing up lights on the house or preparing for Hanukkah, here at Sun Valley we are already looking ahead to Valentine’s Day. As flower farmers, we have to have our crops in the ground well ahead of any holiday event. Of course, Valentine’s Day is to flowers, what the Super Bowl is to football. You have to have your team functioning at the highest level and all systems must be “go”. All your training and sacrifice has been leading up to this moment for the wild ride which kicks into high gear just about on Ground Hog Day.

Baby Iris, these will be ready for Valentine's Day.

Now the gambling begins. Flower farmers have an extremely perishable crop, much more so even than food. We wager every time we plant a bulb, wagering that that flower will be sold, after we give it all the love, attention and resources a flower needs to grow. There is nothing sadder than tossing out a bunch of flowers which were grown, but never purchased. This is sad on many levels, especially the economic one.

We track Mother Nature’s cycles so we have a historical context to work with. Seeing how the weather patterns effect the flowers growth and harvest rates is a constant job. Anticipating the first frost, knowing when a big weather system is going to move in, planning ahead to know that the shorter days are going to create a need for more time in the ground for a flower to reach maturity, all of this is a science. However, Mother Nature is not a scientist. She is crafty, wily and always happy to throw a curve ball at you.

Walk onto any farm in the world and ask the simple question, “What is the weather going to be like tomorrow?” and prepare for an onslaught of information, debate, charts, Doppler radar print outs, almanac readings and a fair amount of superstition. In our office the weather guru is Doug Dobecki. Better have your facts straight if you are going to talk weather with Doug. If you didn’t notice that low pressure building off the Philippines which could bring rain to our Oxnard Farm or didn’t notice the cold front lingering in the Aleutian Islands that could set back our tulip production by a day or two next week, you are going to get a weather clinic. It is even rumored that Santa Claus calls Doug on the 24th of December to know how warm to dress.




Flower farming is a job done with two hands. One hand is harvesting the flower which will bloom today; the other hand is planting the bulb, which will bloom in the future. There is very little time for rest this time of year, as we harvest for the holidays and plant for Valentine's Day, in February we will be picking for Valentine's Day, while we plant for Mother’s Day. And so it goes, as the earth travels in its yearly journey around the sun.

We are about 11 weeks out from Valentine’s Day, so our enormous the lily crop is in the ground. A lily takes between 12-16 weeks to reach harvest, and what a beautiful flower for all you Cupids out there. Our iris crop is in the ground as well, since an iris takes about 14 weeks in the winter months to reach harvest. Our tulips are already rooted, and sitting in the cooler, waiting to be put into a warm greenhouse in the weeks just before Valentine's. Of course, all these numbers are just educated guesses, if there is a cold snap, the flowers will slow down and we will be sweating to get them to harvest in time, and vice versa, if it  suddenly gets unseasonably warm and sunny, then the flowers will be ready to pick in late January…uh-oh.


Soil grown Tulips in their early stage.

Another challenge our growers face is anticipating the color mixes needed. Using our stunning Matsumoto Asters grown at our Oxnard Farm as an example; here is what has to happen. A Matsumoto takes 14-15 weeks to reach harvest. For Valentine’s Day, we need to have almost the entire crop blooming in Red and Hot Pink colors for about 10 days. The weeks before and immediately after Valentine’s Day, the colors that are in demand for bouquets, weddings and such are purple, white and lavender. So it takes some serious forethought to make it all work out…luckily this isn’t our first rodeo, and Sun Valley is known for having the best year round flower availability in the industry.


Red and Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters will be ready for Valentine's Day.

Anticipating the color demands, matched with environmental conditions is just one of the interesting equations in the flower industry. Too bad they don’t have Powerball in California, with the odds we face every day, our growers would win.


Walking the farm with Lane and Gerrit this fall, I commented on how much I enjoyed seeing the crops in the ground, getting a different perspective on our Matsumotos which are an almost bush like plant. From my perspective, I enjoyed seeing the whole plant not just the stem with a flower on top. As I made this comment, both Gerritt and Lane stopped dead in their tracks, Gerrit politely said, “I like to see the flowers in a box.”

We turned and kept walking, a moment later, Lane added, “With a label on it.”

Such is the flower business, hoping against hope, stem by stem to get the flower to grow, to harvest, to market and to get the next bulb planted.

Interview with The Aster Master - Part 2

Interview with The Aster Master - Part 2

Asters CA Grown California Flowers Chamomile Growing Flowers Matsumoto Asters Seestern Asters Sun Valley

A few weeks ago, we dipped our toes into the world of Aster growing at Sun Valley. I talked a bit about the who (Gerrit, the Aster Master) and the what (different varieties we grow) of our Aster program. Today we're digging deeper and getting into the real heart of the story - the where, when, why and how our Asters are grown.

Bulb Schmulb

As you may already know, The Sun Valley Group started out way back when as Sun Valley Bulb Farm. Our primary focus was (and still essentially is), obviously, bulb flowers like tulips, irises, and lilies. But with our growth as a company has come an ever-expanding selection of cut flowers, including some non-bulb varieties. Asters fall into this category.

Asters grow from seeds, plain and simple. The Aster planting team uses plugs - seeds rooted in about an inch of dirt in trays - that are bought in or seeded on the farm, as they are much more economical then planting seeds directly in the fields. (You can watch how plugs are seeded in this video.) A major difference between growing seed flowers and bulb flowers is seeds or seed plugs don't require cooling before they are ready to be planted. As you might guess, this is a huge advantage for Sun Valley, saving us time and cooler space.

However, that's not to say growing Asters is particularly easy...

Musical Hoops

Sea Star Asters growing in an Oxnard hoophouse

Imagine for a moment physically picking up your house, your car, the garage that houses your car, and all of your loose belongings and moving them to a new location... every year. That's somewhat what it's like with our Aster crops because of a process called crop rotation. I'm pretty sure you've heard of crop rotation before, but in case you haven't, it means periodically changing the crop grown in a particular field to help promote the restoration of essential nutrients in the soil.

A couple years ago, the Sun Valley Oxnard farmers accelerated the Aster crop rotation schedule and wound up with stronger flowers and a higher recovery rate. Great for our crops, hard work for our farmers. Because the Asters require much more than just a field to be planted in (hoops, lighting, generators, hydration systems, etc.), moving the crops requires a lot of time, precision and heavy lifting. But like the saying goes... somebody's gotta do it!

So, how does crop rotation impact our Asters?



Sweetheart Asters making a comeback!

Remember when I called Sweetheart Asters "The Comeback Kids" in Aster Master - Part 1? Well, crop rotation is precisely what facilitated this comeback. When we initially grew the beloved little Sweethearts, "the soil got tired," as Gerrit put it, from growing so many Matsumotos. Sweetheart Asters were the exhausted soil's casualty.

Soon after, the farmers decided to pick up the farm, take all of the hoops off the field, and replace Matsumotos with Iris. (Unlike our Arcata hoophouses, the Oxnard hoops are moveable... in case you were wondering.) This led to an entirely new "growing culture" in Oxnard, which now included crop rotation with Asters, irises and neighboring strawberry farm crops. This shift led to a much more favorable recovery rate for our Asters, and ultimately allowed us to reintroduce our Sweetheart Asters.



Matricaria busy healing the ground!

 You probably also remember me calling Matricaria (Chamomile) "The Healers."  These adorable flowers are vital to the Aster crop rotation process, since they actually heal the soil. And since they make such a charming filler for enhanced bunches and bouquets, our Matricaria varieties are a win-win for us!

How does our Aster garden grow?



Young Asters



Short answer: Year-round in hoops!

Long answer: Aster plugs are planted in hoophouses. Then, similar to growing Royal and Love Lilies, drip tape and a wire grid are laid down. Drip tape ensures adequate delivery of water and fertilizer to the plants' root systems, and the wire grid helps their stems grow straight and sturdy.

Asters are naturally a fall crop, but for some inexplicable reason, they seem to love growing year-round in Oxnard! They take about 10-15 weeks to grow, depending on the season, and the use of hoops and lighting help keep them on schedule during off seasons.

Unlike our bulb flowers, which are cut when still closed, Asters show full color when they are ready for harvest. This makes for a lot of pretty farm pictures! 




Karthauser Sea Star Asters



White Daisy Matricaria (Chamomile)



Freshly harvested Matsumoto Asters


This pretty much sums up my interview with Gerrit, The Aster Master. I, for one, picked up a wealth of new knowledge from this experience. I hope you, too, walk away with a little more insight into growing Asters - The Godfathers, The Comeback Kids, The Crowd Pleasers and The Healers - at Sun Valley!

Click on the following link to watch a video about Sun Valley Oxnard farm and learn a whole lot more about Asters from Gerrit and J Schwanke! (You will have to log into your uBloom account to watch the video.) http://ubloom.com/blog/2010/10/28/the-ca-grown-experience-on-ubloom-visits-sun-valley-group-oxnard-division/ Also, be sure to check out the Sun Valley website to see which Aster varieties are in season now.

If you would like to learn more about our Asters, or if you have anything you would like me to blog about in a future post, please email me! I'll do my best to oblige!