Have you ever thought about the symbolic message you are sending with a flower? Sometimes the flowers we gift to the people we love have a much greater symbolic value than we might think.
Flower symbolism has been around for centuries and even our ancestors knew the importance of it. They used flowers to welcome people to their lives and to say goodbye to the ones who were leaving.
Flower symbolism helps us to decide which flower to use to surprise our loved ones and to make their day much better and happier. Flower symbolism also teaches us more about a certain flower sort in general, which is always useful and fun to investigate. In this text, we will be focusing on the Aster flower, which is a very popular flower and frequently grown in various countries.
Asters might not be the most extravagant or the rarest flowers on Earth, but their importance is still something that is worth looking into. So, if you were ever interested in finding out more about Aster flowers, here is the opportunity to do exactly that.
Meaning of the Aster flower
Every flower has its own symbolic meaning and symbolic value that is very important especially if we are planning to gift someone a certain flower sort. We don’t want to offend someone by sending them the wrong kind of flowers, or flowers that might send the wrong message to this person. Aster flower has several important meanings that we need to be careful about or that we need to keep in mind when gifting someone these beautiful flowers. Those meanings are:
- Patience
- Elegance
- Daintiness
- Afterthought
- Love of variety
Patience – Aster flower represents patience, so it can be an ideal gift to someone who needs to have patience at this exact moment. This meaning is derived from ancient meanings, the Aster flower had in some cultures around the globe. This symbolic meaning survived until today and it is still used across the world.
Elegance – Another meaning behind the Aster flower is elegance. This simple and delicate flower represents elegance and can be gifted to anyone who is elegant and gentle in your opinion. Aster flowers are great gifts for women who are considered to be true and classy ladies.
Daintiness – Similar to the above meaning, Aster flowers symbolize a personality that is gentle, kind and almost fragile. Person to whom you are gifting these flowers needs to be exactly this, since Aster flowers are definitely not for those who are seeking more adventure or something more interesting in their gift.
Afterthought – Aster flowers can be used as flowers to remember something or flowers we take to graves and to other occasions where we remember people who are no longer with us. They are also a great choice for farewell occasions where we are saying goodbye to people who are going far away, and who are no longer going to be living close to us.
Love of variety – Aster flowers have this meaning as well, and it is definitely something that is derived from the variety of Aster flower colors. You can choose the right flower color for every occasion and surprise the person you love and send him or her right kind of message.
Aster – Etymological meaning
Aster flower’s name comes from the Greek word for “star”. Aster flowers reminded Greeks so much of stars, that they decided to name this flower star-like flowers and that is the name we are still using today.
It is no wonder that Aster flower name origin is this simple, because ancient cultures didn’t have too much information about the world around them, besides what they noticed themselves or concluded by observing the world around them.
Aster – Symbolism
Besides having specific meanings, flowers can also have certain symbolic meanings that were created by people and cultures that used to live surrounded by these flower sorts. Symbolic meaning of a certain flower depends on its use among people, the way people saw it and these symbolic meanings may vary from culture to another.
In ancient Greece, the Aster flower was considered to be very helpful because it helped scare away snakes and evil spirits that were roaming around the house. According to an ancient myth, when Jupiter the God of thunder decided to send flood to Earth, the goddess Astraea asked to be turned into a star. After the flood covered the Earth, goddess was so upset and sad that she wept, and wherever her tears fell, Aster flowers sprouted out from the ground.
According to another myth, King Aegeus’s son Theseus decided to go alone and fight the Minotaur. His son promised that he will fly with a white flag to Athens, if he ends up victorious. Theseus was victorious, but on his way home he forgot to place the white flag instead of the black, so his father thought he died fighting the Minotaur. Because of this, the King Aegeus committed suicide, even though his son was alive. On the place where his blood fell, Aster flowers sprouted out of the ground.
In Native American culture, Aster flowers symbolized two young girls who got lost in the woods. An old herb lady found them, and since she had foreseen their future, she decided to turn the girls into flowers to save their lives. The one girl, who was wearing the blue dress, got turned into the Aster flower.
In Europe, especially in England and Germany, it is highly believed that the Aster flower has magical powers. Because of this, this flower was often used in magic potions for various purposes. In United States, the Aster flower is the flower of the month September and it is also the flower you gift to your spouse for the 20th wedding anniversary.
Aster – Color meaning
Flower colors can sometimes have a very big importance for the flower’s symbolism. In some cases the color can add up to the flower’s symbolism and in other cases it can take away from it. Aster flower comes in several different colors. These colors are:
Pink
- Color pink symbolizes gentle, kindness, romance and love. Pink Aster flowers are a perfect gift for someone who you love and find to be your soul-mate. If you want to change things up a little for Valentine’s Day, this is the perfect flower to do that.
Purple
- Purple Asters are symbols of royalty, nobility and beauty. This is the perfect flower to gift to someone you find to be a little bit unusual and unique.
Blue
- Color blue is a symbol of stability, depth and faith. Blue Asters are beautiful already and can be both used as gorgeous decoration in your home and as a perfect gift for someone you like.
White
- White is a symbol of spirituality, faith and innocence. The white Asters can be used for wedding ceremonies and as perfect addition to bouquet arrangements in your home.
Yellow
- Color yellow symbolizes happiness, positive energy and optimism. This flower color can be gifted to someone you want to cheer up after a rough day and whom you want to see in a better mood.
Red
- Color red is a symbol of passion, love and romance. The red Aster flowers send a strong message to another person, and you can always pick this bold color to share your deepest emotions with someone you love.
Aster – Botanical facts and characteristics
The Aster flower, Latin name ( also Aster) is a garden plant that flourishes in late summer and autumn, and has starry petals. Some varieties also flourish in May. This plant is also known as the Star-flower. It originates from the areas of China and Japan where it grows like a wild plant.
One-year-old, leafy and bushy, Aster flower is also specific because it has a specific scent that gets even stronger as soon as it is picked or when its stem is cut off.
There are high varieties of Aster flower that grow to a height of about 80 cm, a medium high height of about 50 cm and a low variety with a height of about 30 centimeters.
The flowers of this plant are quite different and depend on the species, so we distinguish: simple, long, ball, shattered and chrysanthemum Aster flowers. The flowers are large and grow individually and can be white, yellow, blue, pink or red.
Beautiful Aster will be able to keep a nice shape in the strong sun, but it will make fine progress in the half-sided places. The optimum position for cultivating Aster flowers is when they are facing south. Beautiful Aster also enjoys medium-sized, sandy soils, but also usually landscaped land that is fragile.
Watering should be done by watering the beautiful Aster regularly, especially during the summer. Plant growth is stimulated by the application of the fertilizer and in dry period with more water.
When planting the Aster flower, add slow-moving fertilizers, and then you do not have to feed it until April. Then start feeding once every two weeks until August.
When Aster flower bends, it can be cut and the flowerpot wrapped in order to protect the plant from freezing. So it will be renewed and it will be able to flourish once again.
Some varieties of Aster flower grow so lushly that they need to be cut so that they do not catch up with the development of other plants in the garden.
The planting depends on the period on the flowering of the Aster flower. The one that blooms in the autumn, is planted in the early spring, and the one that blooms in the spring, is planted in autumn.
To plant it, provide well drained soil, or substrate, and immediately plant a purchased plant in a gardening or pots sack. If you plant the flower in the garden, add a little fertilizer.
Beautiful Aster flower is simply reproduced by the underground tree from which the new shoots are made. It is also possible to reproduce by dividing the sides.
Beautiful Aster seed is harvested when the plant grows up. Sowing in March and April in an open space, at a depth of about 2 cm. The smallest temperature required for successful emergence is 18 degrees. If you sow in May, Aster will flourish a little later.
Since the root system of this plant is very shallow and develops better at lower temperatures with sufficient moisture, it is advisable to plant the flowers in early spring, before the first warm wave.
For planting in the garden, Aster flower’s medium growths are suitable for bordures and in combinations in other groups with other flowerbeds if they are low varieties.
Very low varieties, height of about 20 cm, can be planted at the beginning of the beds, or in the corner where you have very little space. With decorative herbs, it will be nice to fit Aster flowers with colorful flowers.
Low varieties of Aster flowers are suitable for planting in pots, jars or boxes that you can hold on the window or on the balcony, where you will have a unique autumn decoration.
Aster – Secret message
Every flower has its own symbolic meaning and value. Besides that, every flower is sending us a special kind of message we need to understand and know before we decide which flower to gift to someone.
The Aster flower is sending you the message of remembrance and elegance. This is the kind of flower you can gift to someone you find to be delicate and kind, but also the kind of flower you can use to remember someone who is no longer present in your life. The Aster flower is a symbol of delicate beauty, kindness, gentle nature and also remembrance.
Ancient Greeks saw it as a magical flower with a deep symbolic meaning behind it, and other cultures even say it magical flower that can be used in potions for various purposes. Aster flower is the perfect example how even the simplest and smallest flowers can have a significant symbolic meaning behind them and teach us a lot about the world.
