500 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



ASTEK 



very much wrinkled and the flowers with 

 unsightly ragged centres, unless a good 

 supply of water is given regularly. To 

 prevent evaporation as much as possible, 

 and to keep the soil cool, a top dressing 

 of spent mushroom-beds or other rotted 

 manure may be given. 



The plants are easily raised from 

 seeds. These are usually sown in bottom 

 heat in March, but they germinate freely 

 in cold frames about the end of April, 

 either in pots or shallow boxes or pans. 

 They require to be pricked out, and made 

 as sturdy as possible with light and air 

 by the end of May, when they may be 

 planted out. 



Seeds ripen freely in the British 

 Islands, but they cannot be relied upon 

 to produce such fine flowers as the plants 

 which have been raised from seed saved 

 on the Continent, where the seasons as a 

 rule have a more ripening effect than 

 ours. 



ASTER (Starwort ; Michaelmas 

 Daisy). — A genus containing about 200 

 species of herbaceous perennials (rarely 

 biennials) mostly natives of N. America. 

 Leaves alternate, entire, toothed or in- 

 cised. Flower-heads in racemes or panicles. 

 Involucre bell-shaped or hemispherical ; 

 bracts few or in many series. Receptacle 

 flat or convex. Pappus hairs few or plenti- 

 ful. 



In speaking of these plants the term 

 ' Starwort ' seems to be on the whole more 

 appropriate than ' Michaelmas Daisy,' 

 although the latter term undoubtedly in- 

 dicates the period when a large nimiber, 

 but by no means all, bloom. But such 

 plants as A. ddplostephoides for instance 

 cannot be appropriately called Michael- 

 mas Daisies. 



Culture and Propagation. — Most Star- 

 worts are of easy culture in ordinary 

 garden soil, and are readily increased by 

 dividing the root growths in early spring. 

 Seeds may also be sown, although many 

 varieties readily reproduce themselves by 

 this means naturally. They may be 

 sown in Ught prepared soil in the open 

 border as soon as ripe, but there will be a 

 better chance of success by sowing in cold 

 frames. The seedlings may be pricked 

 out and grown on until the following 

 September, or spring, when they may be 

 transferred to their places in the flower 

 border. Cuttings of the young shoots 

 from the roots mav also be taken about 



April or May, and inserted in sandy soil 

 in a cool frame, or better still with a 

 little bottom heat. They will soon root if 

 kept shaded and sprinkled overhead for a 

 short time, afterwards giving more air 

 and light as they show signs of becoming 

 established. 



Of late years there has been a great 

 revival in regard to the cultivation of 

 Starworts, but notwithstanding several 

 efforts to reduce them to order, they are 

 stUl in a very mixed condition botanicaUy. 

 The fact is that many kinds readily inter- 

 cross, and their progeny exhibit traces 

 sometimes of one parent, sometimes of 

 another, and these become further crossed 

 with other species or varieties, and so on 

 indefinitely. 



As garden plants, Starworts are 

 among the most beautiful and graceful 

 of autumn flowers. With the disappear- 

 ance of the Phloxes, and perennial Sun- 

 flowers, the Dahhas, Golden Bods, and 

 many other beautiful flowers, the Star- 

 worts become conspicuous for their beauty 

 and their lasting properties. They produce 

 a wealth of starry blossom, beginning in 

 July or August with such kinds as acris, 

 Amelhis, ItBvis, Novi-Belgii, and ending in 

 November and December with diffusus, 

 ericoides, and gramdiflorus. For decora- 

 tive purposes they are unsurpassed at this 

 latter period of the year. 



In habit of growth Starworts vary a 

 good deal both in height and method of 

 branching. Some are scarcely a foot high, 

 while others often attain a height of 5 or 6 

 feet or more, according to soil and situation. 

 The taUer-grovidng kinds are valuable for 

 the flower border, but to see their beauty 

 to advantage they should be planted in 

 bold masses. The dwarfer and more 

 slender kinds are effective in the rock 

 garden, the margins of shrubberies, and 

 borders. 



The following is a selection of the 

 kinds worth growing. They are all natives 

 of N. America except where otherwise 

 stated. 



A. acris.— A native of S. Europe 2 ft. 

 or more high, with Unear laaice-shaped 

 leaves, and blue flowers in August. The 

 variety dracunculoides is a tall, free- 

 flowered form ; nanus is very dwarf, and 

 useftil for rookeries. 



Culture do. as above. 



A. acuminatus.— About 2 ft. high, with 

 broadly lance-shaped, long pointed leaves. 



