Overview

• Demand for asters in UK supermarkets has jumped by about 350% over the past two years, positioning them as one of Tesco’s fastest-growing bouquet items.
• Tesco plans to sell nearly one million bunches this season, offering bouquets at £3 each for single colours and £6 for mixed ‘bumper’ bunches.
• Lincolnshire grower L&D Flowers has ramped capacity from 100,000 bunches in 2022 to 1.2 million this year, harvesting five million stems to meet retailer orders.
• Asters thrive in 12–14 weeks from greenhouse plug to field harvest and have benefited this summer from fertile south Lincolnshire soils and extended daylight.
• Retailers highlight asters’ vivid colours, good vase life and British provenance as drivers for budget-conscious seasonal-flower shoppers.