August 13, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



205 



Rochester and the Branching Aster 



The "Loke Ridsje" region in which Rochester is 

 located, parallel with the south shore of Lake Ontario, 

 seems well suited to the growth of late Asters. There 

 is a profusion of native species, and the cultivated 

 kinds are successfully grown, both for cut flowers and 

 for seed, on all sorts of soil, from light sand to heavy 

 clay loam. 



The real beginning of Aster growing for seed and 

 cut flowers in Western New York was the introduction 

 of the Branching Aster in 1893. Previous to that time 

 comparatively small quantities of what are now gen- 

 eraJly classed as European varieties of Asters were 

 grown for seed by the late James Vick, on his seed 

 farm near Rochester, along with Portulacca, Phlox 

 Drummondii. Petunia and other annuals now grown in 

 Europe or California. Then, as now, the Aster was a 

 favorite with this house, but at that time it did not 

 over-shadow the other annuals as at present. In cut 

 flowers Queen of the Market and Comet varieties were 

 prominent and were grown in quantities to supply local 

 demands. 



In 1891 a southern correspondent of James Vick's 

 Sons asked for some Aster seed from Vick's Catalogue 

 list, ofl'ering seed of a new Aster, of his own, in ex- 

 change. The letter appeared to come from a small 

 florist's establishment. Nothing was expected of the 

 alleged new Aster, but as a business courtesy Mr. 

 Charles H. Vick directed that the order be filled. Mr. 

 Herbert Greensmith, now of the Cincinnati Park De- 

 partment, was at that time in charge of the trial 

 grounds. When it finally came into bloom Mr. Vick 

 was impressed with its possibilities as a cut flower. 

 Salter Bros., retail florists, endorsed it enthusiasti- 

 cally, and the house prepared to launch a valu- 

 able novelty. It is doubtful if we shall ever know the 

 exact origin of this decided break in Asters. No reply 

 was received to Mr. Vick's inquiries in after years and 

 in time the address of the sender was lost. 



At first Vick's Branching Aster came only in white. 

 Tlie plants were strong and the main braches were 

 thickly set with laterals. Though not up to the present 

 standard, the flowers were fairly double, nearly all 

 making salable blooms if cut in season. Such plants 

 are heavy seeders, and in 1892 James Vick's Sons were 

 able to grow a large block of the new Aster. Wlien 

 the first frost came, with the Branching Asters still 

 in full bloom, there was great anxiety. Their hardiness 

 was not known and Mr. Vick had the whole planting 

 protected with tents. This crop was offered in 1893 

 and attracted much attention. In 1894 the Seedmen's 

 National Convention was held in Rochester. James 

 Vick's Sons gave the members a banquet at which the 

 new aster was lavishly displayed, and its general intro- 

 duction was assured. About this time other colors be- 

 gan to appear, practically one a year, until the more 

 important shades in the older sorts of Asters had been 

 duplicated in the Branching. 



In 1891 seed of the Mary J. Semple. now known as 

 the Semple Pink, or Shell Pink, was offered by Henry 

 A. Dreer. This fine pink Aster originated with Mr. 

 James Somple, of Bellevue. Pa. It was not quite as 

 double as Vick's white, and was thoroughly fixed in 

 character from the first. The long petals are a little 

 folded lengthwise. Mr. Semple also put out a white 

 and a lavender in the same type. Owing to the shape 

 of the petals the white had a somewhat gray effect. The 

 lavender was smaller and extremely pale. The writer 

 soon dropped them for Vick's strain of the same colors, 



the seed going out to the trade he was at that time sup- 

 plying as "Vick's" or ''Semple's," as called for.- In 

 testing the new Rrandiing Asters offereil during the 

 past 15 years the wiitor has not found anything of im- 

 portance except the Semple Pink that was not already 

 growing in the fields about Rochester, N. Y. 



With the introduction of the Branching Asters about 

 Rochester, the business of growing the flowers for ship- 

 ping began to develop. At first it was in the hands 

 of florists; later, many market gardeners and truck 

 farmers took it up as a side line. At the present time 

 only a small part of the Asters used as cut flowers from 

 Western New York are gi'own by professional florists. 

 George B. Hart, the wholesale florist of Rochester, esti- 

 mates his consignments for 1910 at one million blooms, 

 handling 200,000 in a single week during the busy sea- 

 son. From the district surrounding Rochester about an 

 equal amount is probably sold or shipped directly by the 

 growers. About 2,000 pounds of Aster seed is grown 

 yearly in this district, nearly one hundred acres of land 

 being used in its production. The growing of the seed 

 is inthe hands of a few experts, seedsmen not caring to 

 risk going outside regular channels for supplies. The 

 best seed is grown on soil of only moderate fertility. 

 The fields are planted by machinery, but the plants re- 

 quire more careful handling than vegetable plants and 

 expert knowledge is required in rogueing, and in the 

 selection of stock seed for growing succeeding crops. A 

 twenty-acre field in full bloom, with its alternating rib- 

 bons of different colors, is a sight not soon forgotten. 



More than one-half of the acreage, and much more 

 than one-half of the total yield of seed, is of Branching 

 varieties, and the same is true of the cut flower trade. 

 This is due in part to the fact that they stand handling 

 better than some other types of flowers. The writer 

 saw the returns of one grower of late Asters who made 

 a nice profit on Late White Hohenzollern last year. 

 This is a large, feathery. Comet variety of the season 

 of the late Branching. Bunches of six, in tissue paper, 

 were carefully packed in small cases. Such varieties are 

 evidentlv unsuited to the rough treatment that much of 

 the stock gets at the hands of careless growers and in 

 transit. Another Aster of this type, but earlier in sea- 

 son, found much favor locally last year. It was devel- 

 oped within the city limits of Rochester, bears the city's 

 name, and lias practicallv been adopted as the official 

 flower of Rochester, the "Rochester'' is a large, 

 feathery flower, of a pretty lavender-pink color. The 

 plant is of the Branching type. 



Two changes in the general type of Branching Asters 

 have been undertaken by James Vick's Sons, and care- 

 ful selection on their farm through a series of years has 

 produced a marked effect. Some years ago Mr. Fred 

 S. Fisher, then farm superintendent, began the selec- 

 tion of White Branching to develop a whorled center in 

 the flowers. The twisting of the petals about the cen- 

 ter of the opening flower gives a more graceful effect 

 and a fuller center. This work has gone on until a 

 large percentage of opening flowers in various colors 

 show the- whorled centers in a marked degree. Later, 

 in selecting White Branching for earliness, Mr. Fisher 

 found some individual plants that made a few semi- 

 uprio-ht m-iin stems, with few or no lateral branches. 



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Eochestei; K. Y. 



