! HINRTA DREER •fltllADftPHIA- fk WL RELIABLE FLOWER SEEDS 



73 



DREER'S SUPERB 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 early sorts begin blooming in July, followed by the mid- 

 season kinds, which flower during August; then the late-flowering 

 varieties, which are at their best through September. It is quite 

 easy, therefore, with a little care in the selection of the varieties, 

 to have Asters in flower 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 

 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 posi- 

 tion, and prefer a good, heavy, loamy soil, enriched with a liberal 

 quantity of thoroughly rotted manure, 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, 

 hot-bed 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 almost 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, 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 lime at the time of the preparation of the beds 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 there is some water and kerosene oil. As a rule, these beetles come in August, and by growing only the early 

 and late-flowering kinds can be avoided. 



Branching P^ony-flowered Aster. 



1340 Mixed 



and colors. 



CHINA ASTERS. PERPKT 



This is a general mixture of various sorts 

 oz. , 25 cts 5 



BRANCHING 

 P^EONY-FLOWERED ASTERS. 



A mid-season variety, which in vigor of growth, habit, size of 

 "loom and all other qualities which go to make up a first-class 

 Aster is unequalled. The plants grow about 18 inches high, 

 every flower being borne on a long stem, making them valuable 

 for cutting or bedding. 



PER PXT PER I'KT. 



1375 Crimson 10 



1376 Dark Blue 10 



A packet of each of the 4 colors, 30 cts. 



Finest Mixed Colors. \ oz., 50 cts 



1377 Peach Blossom. 



1378 Pure White. 



1380 



10 



10 



10 



GIANT COMET ASTERS. 



1300 This type is grown for us in California; it is a mid- 

 season variety, flowering in August ; of strong, sturdy 

 habit, 18 to 24 inches high, and bearing magnificent 

 plumy flowers in a very large variety of colors, useful for 

 any purpose. Mixed colors, \ oz., 50 cts 10 



CREGO'S GIANT ASTERS. 



For description of this grand 

 1281 White 15 



variety see pages 60 and 61. 

 I 1282 Pink 



15 



CRIMSON KING ASTER. 



Daybreak Aster. 



1305 This splendid variety is illustrated and fully described on 



page 60. 2 pkts. , 25 cts 15 



DAYBREAK ASTER. 



1311 Of symmetrical growth; attains a height of 18 inches, 

 and produces during August perfect globe-shaped flowers; 

 of a delicate pink tint 15 



For New and Special varieties of Asters see pages 59 to 61. See also pages 74 to 76. 



