A fantastic form of the flat rayed or globe aster 

 with convolute rays (Electric) 



The reflexed form with short, flat rays 

 (Pink Beauty) 



A progressive type of globe aster with long, flat 

 rays (Orego or Oomet) 



Growing High Quality China Asters — By G. w. Kerr, 



Penn- 

 sylvania 



START NOW TO HAVE PLANTS THAT WILL GIVE FLOWERS FROM MIDSUMMER UNTIL AFTER FROST — 

 AN ANALYSIS OF THE TYPES AND AN APPRAISAL OF THE BEST VARIETIES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES 



THE China aster has taken a strong 

 grip on popular appreciation because 

 of all the annuals it gives a greater return 

 than any other in massiveness of individual 

 plants and in the variety and immensity 

 of its flowers. It is equally useful for 

 planting in the garden, in beds, and in bor- 

 ders, for growing as a pot plant for house 

 decoration, and as a source of flowers for 

 cutting. The immense variety of color 

 and form has resulted in the introduction 

 of some hundreds of varieties. Not by 

 any means its least important character- 

 istic is its late-flowering quality, giving 

 (from spring sowing in the open) blooms 

 when most other annuals are passing away. 

 The aster resembles the chrysanthemum 



Single plant of the Victoria type. 18 inches high. 

 Plenty of flowers for one root! 



in many respects but comes into bloom 

 somewhat in advance of the latter and 

 endures until frost. In color the aster 

 gives us blue, red, pink, purple, and white; 

 a few but little grown varieties show a 

 slight tendency toward yellow. Its season 

 extends from the end of July from outdoor 

 sowing or from early in July from seeds 

 started under glass, or indoors, in March. 



TYPES AND VARIETIES 



The original single aster is a daisy-like 

 flower with a yellow disc, measuring per- 

 haps a couple of inches across. In its 

 improved double forms we have flowers 

 as large as five or six inches, with the rays 

 either flat or quilled or the two forms 

 combined as in the anemone chrysanthe- 

 mum. They may be analyzed thus into 

 two divisions and four groups: 



A. Flat rayed: i, incurved or ball- 

 shaped (Globe asters); 2, flat or reflexed. 



B. Tubular or quilled, in which only 

 the outer rays are flat; 3, inner florets 

 short; 4, all the florets long and quilled. 



The most important forms and prac- 

 tically the only ones really worth growing 

 are included under the first division (A), 

 which is the oldest type. 



The Globe asters include the types 

 offered in catalogues as Truffaut's, Peony- 

 flowered Perfection, Semple, Triumph, 

 which are of the late-flowering, branching 

 type. 



The flat or reflexed group includes the 

 Chrysanthemum - flowered, Washington, 

 Mignon, Victoria, Queen of the Market, 

 Crown and Comet types, which last is the 

 earliest flowering and best for use in the 

 flower garden. 



The third group, the quilled asters, 



83 



include Dwarf Bouquet and Shakespeare, 

 useful as dwarf plants for bedding, growing 

 six to eight inches high. 



The fourth and last group, with all the 

 florets elongated and quilled, is represented 

 by the Lilliput and Victoria Needle types. 

 The plants are medium to tall and have 

 the same general habit as those of the first 

 and second groups. 



A discussion of the finer points of what 

 I regard as the best of the more popular 

 varieties of the day will be found on 

 page 100. 



There is no royal road to success in aster 

 growing — the way is open to all; but to se- 

 cure typical plants with a plentiful supply 

 of magnificent flowers rivalling the indoor 



The dwarf Waldersee aster, only six inches high, 

 for bedding and edging. One plant 



