Perennial Asters for Fall Flowers—s. vy. morrison 
MODERN IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE HARDY PLANTS FOR LATE BLOOM OFFER A SURPRISING RANGE OF 
COLOR, SIZE AND FORM OF FLOWER—OPPORTUNITIES ALSO FOR WILD GARDENING 
OR the late herbaceous border 
all the hardy perennial Asters 
have a very real value. Fair soil, 
in sun or half shade, division and 
resetting as for other rapidly growing 
perenniais, plenty of water through 
summer droughts to keep the stalks well 
clothed with leaves, and a location not 
too crowded in which to develop the late 
appearing flower stalks—these are the 
conditions asked and surely they are not 
exacting. 
Except the dwarf forms and the 
amellus sorts they are plants for the 
middle and back of the border. Here 
they will elbow many other composites 
and care must be taken to keep the rosy 
New England Aster forms ; 
well away from the green- 
ish yellow of the Heleniums 
or the purer yellows of the 
Helianthus species. Stray 
panicles of Phlox show well 
against the lavender sorts if 
the Phlox be white, pink, or 
even deep cerise. The Jap- 
anese Anemones are charm- 
ing with them, though they 
long outlast the display of 
the Asters. These and the 
Boltonias are the only large 
perennials in bloom with 
the Asters and together they 
make almost the last of the 
great display that comes in 
the autumn, leaving the 
Aconites and the Chrysan- 
themums to make the final 
great burst of beauty be- 
fore the winter. They may be planted 
now to bloom this year. 
It is almost impossible to study any 
English book on herbaceous plantings 
without finding enthusiastic mention of 
The bold, sturdy character of the New England Aster 
gives a welcome note in late fall. 
pinks and blues 
There are some good 
Michaelmas Daisies. Good English peo- 
ple they seem—the Hon. Edith Gibbs, 
Mrs. Raynor, Robert Parker, Perry’s 
Blue, Perry’s Favorite, Ryecroft Purple 
and all the rest; but not all English for 
one finds also Heidenrose, Dornroschen, 
Herbstelfe and others from Germany. 
Underneath they are good Americans, 
for the most part, offspring of the gor- 
geous Wild Asters which glorify our 
meadows and open woodlands every fall. 
But these children of Huropean rais- 
ing generally surpass the wildings in 
range of color and in form of bloom, 
bringing to the herbaceous border large 
masses of lavender and purple at a sea- © 
son of the year when yellows and 
What other hardy plant will give such masses of bloom even after early frosts? 
oranges are otherwise likely to domi- : 
nate. 
Omitting the spring flowering forms, 
the long display of Michaelmas Daisies 
commences with the varieties of Aster 
amellus. This, like the spring- 
blooming Alpine species, throws 
up its flowers from a basal ro- 
sette of leaves. There are sev- 
eral flowers to each branch of 
the flower stalk, which blooms 
open successively so that the 
plants are in prime condition 
for a month, commencing about 
the third week in July. After 
the main crop of flowers has 
faded, some new shoots are 
made from the base. 
Beauty of Ronsdorf was the 
first of these to open its large 
lavender flowers, but Perry’s 
Favorite came very shortly 
after with its more perfectly 
formed flowers of a delicate 
pink color. These looked more 
pink than ever when a few 
Platycodons opened near by. 
Preciosa was the last to bloom 
with the smallest flowers and 
the deepest color—a real ame- 
thyst color. 
And together with these va- 
rieties, there bloomed Aster 
ptarmacoides and Aster Thomp- 
soni. The former is a dwarf, 
about a foot in height, as are 
the amellus sorts of very slen- 
937 
tones of lavender and pink. 
growers and make low habited masses 
der and delicate growth, covered with 
small white flowers. These flowers 
seem particularly white because the 
disk-florets are not hidden by the red- 
dish brown pappus that develops so rap- 
idly in some. The latter is a dwarf 
plant with a very characteristic growth 
and exquisitely formed flowers of a pale 
lavender gray color. But, although the 
flowers are very lovely, they are not sat- 
isfactory, because they come only a few 
at a time through a very long period. 
My plant was in bloom for more than 
two months. 
After these had passed the best 
bloom, there was a slight break in the 
procession that marched in my garden, 
filled only by a little one, 
called Gertrude, and by the 
large Aster puniceus var. 
pulcherrimus. The first of 
these has the general type 
of growth of the novi-belgii 
varieties, but is quite dwarf. 
The compact little bushes 
are covered with very 
charming flowers of a color 
which appears now a clear 
lavender, now a clouded 
pink, the color that marks 
many varieties and which, 
like the colors of the pallida 
Irises, or many of the 
French Lilacs, seems to be- 
come more intensely blue or 
pink according as its neigh- 
bors color. 
Aster puniceus var. pul- 
cherrimus is as robust of 
form and shape as Gertrude is delicate. 
It is even later than most Asters in de- 
veloping its flowering stalks, a point 
which is of value, as it can be tucked in 
between Phloxes in the mixed border to 
The New York Aster and its many varieties give many 
The plants are compact 
