68 



/flEHTOREEl^ 



.RELIABLE f LOWER SEEDS, 



'HMDELPHlAi 



DREER'S FAMOUS AMERICAN ASTERS 



Purple Beauty 

 Aster 



Aster mum 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. Any of the above IS cts. per pkt. 



1269 Collection a packet each of 3 kinds, 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 six beautiful 

 colors. 



1271 American Beauty. Bright cerise-rose. . . . 



1272 Lavender Beauty. Soft lavender IS 



1273 Purple Beauty. Rich deep purple 15 



1274 September Beauty. Delicate shell-pink 15 



1275 Peachblossom Beauty. Peachblossom pink 15 



1276 White Beauty. Purest white 15 



1279 Collection, a packet each of the 6 sorts, 75 cts. 

 1278 Finest Mixed. All colors, I oz., 75 cts 



PER PKT. 

 ..$0 15 



15 



China Asters 



1280 General Mixture. This mixture was saved from the 

 many double flowering sorts grown on our trial grounds the 

 past season. 10 cts. per pkt.; \ oz., 25 cts. 



Asters are one of the most important summer and autumn 

 flowers, and receive special care at our hands. Yearly ex- 

 haustive tests 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 early sorts begin blooming in July, followed 

 by the mid-season varieties, which are usually at 

 their best during August. Then come the late 

 flowering kinds, which bloom from the end of 

 August on through September into October. It is 

 quite easy, therefore, with a little care in the selec- 

 tion of the. varieties, to have Asters in bloom from 

 the first days in July until hard frost. 



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 fertilizer; and the addition 

 of wood ashes or air-slacked lime, and should not 

 be grown 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 equally as good 

 results. 



The main essentials to insure fine Asters are a new 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 new 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. 



New California Giant 

 Branching Asters 



A splendid new midseason to late flowering strain, the result 

 of years of painstaking selection by one of California's leading 

 hybridizers; plants grow 3 to 3| feet high with long, strong stems 

 18 to 24 inches in length bearing beautifully formed curled and 

 interlaced flowers 5 inches and over across. We offer the follow- 

 ing colors: 



PER PKT. 



1291 Lavender Blue $0 20 



1292 Peach Blossom 20 



1293 Pure White 20 



1294 Deep Purple 20 



1295 Rich Rose 20 



1296 Parma Violet 20 



1299 Collection of a packet each of above 6 colors 1 00 



1300 Finest Mixed. All colors. \ oz., 75 cts 15 



We call Special Attention to our Collection of Six Famous Asters offered on page 53 



