ANNUALS 



257 



ALONSOA, Hh., P. Rich scarlet flowers. A white variety 

 is also to be had. Height, 1% to 2 feet. They may be 

 propagated both by seeds and cuttings. They need a 

 Ifght, rich soil. Sow the seeds in February, in the hot- 

 bed or greenhouse, and plant them out in May, 1 foot apart. 

 ASTERS, Hh. These fall flowers, known as the China and 

 German asters, present an almost endless number of 

 varieties. The flowers are 

 large, double and of various 

 shades of red, blue and white. 

 Some of them, especially the 

 Washington asters, rival 

 chrysanthemums. They grow 

 from 1 to 2 feet high. Sow 

 in the middle of March, in 

 a coldframe, or in the open 

 ground, in early May. If 

 sown in the fall and win- 

 tered in a cool greenhouse, 

 they may be had in bloom 

 in the spring. For fine flow- 

 ers they should have rich 

 soil, stand about 10 to 12 

 inches apart, and never re- 

 ceive any check. 

 Bailey writes as follows on 

 these flowers (Bull. 90, Cornell 

 Exp. Sta.) : " The China asters 

 are among the best of all the 

 annual garden flowers. They 

 are of the easiest culture, most 

 free of bloom, and comprise a 

 multitude of forms and colors. 193 ' Bowing the habit of one of 

 They are therefore admirably the types of tall asters, -Truf- 



faut s peony- flowered, 

 adapted to profuse and gen- 

 erous effects in schemes of planting. They are also worthy of 

 wide attention because they are adapted to many of the pur- 

 poses for which chrysanthemums are grown, and they can be 

 raised to perfection wholly without use of glass. They attain 

 their best in the decline of the season, from late August till 



