64 



Dreer's Famous American Asters. 



ASTERS are one of the most important summer and autumn 

 flowers, and receive special care at our hands. Yearly 

 exhaustive tests of both home-grown and imported stocks 

 are made with a view to offering only the choicest kinds, 

 regardless of cost. As a result of this care our list comprises 

 only such sorts as can be planted with perfect confidence that 

 nothing better is procurable, no matter at what price or from 

 what source. 



The varieties offered on this and the following three pages 

 represent the finest Asters introduced to date, and are all firmly 

 established favorites with the most critical growers of this popu- 

 lar flower, and should be in every garden where high quality is 

 appreciated. 



The early sorts, such as Queen of the Market, Lavender Gem 

 and White Fleece, begin blooming in July, followed by the mid- 

 season varieties, which are usually at their best during August, 

 and which include such splendid sorts as Pink Beauty, Mikado 

 Electric, Ostrich Feather, Pxony Perfection and the Improved 

 American Victorias. Then come the late- flowering kinds, which 

 bloom from the end of August on through September into October. 

 This class furnishes the finest flowers of ail and is well repre- 

 sented in our list by our Superb Late Branching in eight beauti- 

 ful colors, our Peerless Pink, the finest Pink Aster grown, Crego's 

 Giant, Crimson Giant, Violet King and a number of other fine 

 sorts. It is quite easy, therefore, with a little care in the selection 

 of the varieties, to have Asters in bloom from the first days in 

 July until hard frost. 



Culture. — Asters will thrive in any good soil, prepared in 

 the same way as you would for a crop of vegetables, but it is 

 well to renaember that any extra care taken in the preparation 



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of the soil is repaid by finer plants, larger blooms with longer 

 stems and more profuse flowering. They should have an open, 

 sunny position, End prefer a good, heavy, loamy soil, enriched 

 with a liberal quantity of bone meal or other good commercial 

 fertilizer, and the addition of wood ashes or air-slaked lime, and 

 we do not advise growing them on the same ground year after 

 year; it is better to change each season. 



For early flowering the seed should be started in the house, 

 hotbed or cold-frame in April, transferring them to their flower- 

 ing quarters as soon as danger from frost is past. For August 

 and later flowering it is just as well to sow them in the open in 

 May, preferably in a prepared seed bed, transplanting them when 

 two or three inches high to where they are to bloom, although 

 they may be sown where they are to flower with almost as good 

 results. 



The main essentials to insure fine Asters are a rich soil, fre- 

 quent cultivation, no check to their growth from start to finish, 

 and ample room to develop. When wanted for cutting with long 

 stems, they should be .set out not closer than twelve inches 

 apart in the rows and two feet between the rows. When wanted 

 for mass efiects in beds they may be planted nine inches to a foot 

 apart each way. 



Asters are sometimes attacked by an aphis at their roots; also 

 by stem rot, a fungous disease, which causes the stem to decay 

 just at the point it emerges from the ground. Both of these 

 troubles are rarely met with if the plants are grown on good 

 soil and are not checked in their growth. The addition of wood 

 ashes or air-slaked linie at the time of the preparation of the 

 bed also helps to prevent these troubles. 



The .Aster or Black Beetle, which devours the flowers, can 

 only be destroyed by hand-picking or by knocking them into a 

 basin or receptacle in which iheie is some water and kerosine 

 oil. As a rule, these beeiles come in August, and by growing 

 only the early and late-flowering kinds can be avoided. 



ASTERMLUM ASTERS. 



A giant Comet midseason variety of recent introduction. For full description 

 see Novelties and Specialties, pages 50 to 59. We can supply in 

 '1 If three colors, viz.: 



PHR PKT. 



1261 Lavender 15 



126-2 Pink 15 



1263 White 15 



A packet of each color for 35 ct.s. 



CHINA ASTERS. 



1340 General Mixture. This mixture was saved from 

 from the many sorts and colors grown on our trial 

 grounds the past season. 5 cts. per jjkt. ; } oz., 

 25 cts. 



Crego's Giant Comet Asters. 



We consider this the finest and largest of all Comet 



Asters, bearing immense fluffy flowers five inches and over 



in diameter, as fine as any Chrysanthemum, and when cut 



J- keep in good condition longer than any other of this type. 



We offer five colors, viz.; pek tkt. 



1281 White. Pure white 15 



1282 Pink. Delicate shell-pink 15 



1283 Purple. Bright purple 15 



1284 Rose. Rich deep rose 15 



1285 Lavender. Deep lavender 15 



1288 Collection of a packet each of the 5 colors, 60 cts. 



1290 Crego's Mixed. All colors. 15 cts. pkt. ; 2 pkts., 25 cts. 



We offer a splendid lot of Alter* among other «pec!alties on pace* 50 to 59. 



