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RELIABLE FLOWER SEEDS 



I 



67 



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 are made with a view to offer- 

 ing only the choicest kinds, regardless of cost. As a 

 result of this care our list compriies 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 popular flower, and should be in every 

 garden where high quality is appreciated. 



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

 Gem and Royal, 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, Ostrich Feather and the Improved 

 American Victorias. Then come the late flowering kinds, 

 which bloom from the end of August on through Septem- 

 ber into October. This class furnishes the finest flowers 

 of all, and is well represented in our list by our Superb 

 Late Branching, Beauty, our Peerless Pink, the finest 

 Pink Aster grown, Crego's Giant, Crimson Giant, the 

 Kings 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. 



A Few Cultural Hints on the 

 Growing of Asters 



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 remember that any extra care taken in 

 the preparation of the soil is repaid by finer plants, larger blooms with longer stems and more profuse flowering. They should have an 

 open, sunny position, and prefer a good, heavy, loamy soil, enriched with a liberal quantity of bone meal or other good commercial fertil- 

 izer; and the addition of wood ashes or air-slacked 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 flowering 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 equally as good results. 



The main essentials to insure fine-Asters are a rich soil, frequent 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 effects 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. 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-slacked lime at the time of the preparation 

 of the beds also helps to prevent these troubles. 



ASTERMUM 



Astermum Asters 



A strain of Comet Asters which, on account of their size and 

 Chrysanthemum-like appearance, have appropriately been named 

 Astermums. The plants grow about 2 feet high, and come into 

 bloom a little earlier than the Crego's Giant. We offer three fine 

 colors, as under: 



1261 Lavender. A rich shade of lavender or light violet. 



1262 Pink. A very attractive shade of lively rose-pink. 



1263 White. Purest snow-white. 



Price. 15 cts. per pkt.; a packet of each color for 35 cts. 



Beauty Asters 



A recently developed late flowering strain coming into bloom 

 in late September, and being at their best through October, the 

 plants grow nearly 3 feet high, and bear their very large, densely 

 double flowers on long strong stems. We offer four beautiful 

 colors. 



1271 American Beauty. Bright cerise-rose. 



1272 Lavender Beauty. Soft lavender. 



1273 Purple Beauty. Rich deep purple. 



1274 September Beauty. Delicate shell-pmk. 



Price. 15 cts. per pkt.; a pkt. each of the 4 colors, 50 cts. 



China Asters 



1340 General Mixture. This mixture was saved from the 

 many double flowering sorts grown on our trial grounds the 

 past season. 5 cts. per pkt.; j 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 keep in good con- 

 dition longer than any other of this type (illustrated on page 68) . 

 We offer five colors, viz. 



PER PKT. 



1281 White. Pure white $0 15 



1282 Piiik. 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, per pkt.; 60 cts. 



per \ oz. 



Asters are continued on pages 68 to 70. See also Specialties, pages 52 to 62 



