194 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



March 9, 1912 



As 



THE USEFULNESS OF ASTERS 



Tliougli the astez" has been in ciiltivation 

 for a long number of years, it was not iinitil 

 of late that its populajrity became great, 

 and this was not to !be wondered at, seeing 

 that the old fomis were so stiff in appear- 

 ance, and the flowers were of indistinct 

 colours, produced on short stems, and there- 

 fore quite useless for decorative purposes. 

 Truffaut's Pseony variety was a great ad- 

 vance on the old type^ and ever since its 

 introduction every effort has been made to 

 improve the flower, so that at the present 

 time there is a 'whole list of different sec- 

 tions that the cultivator may choose from, 

 emibracing a wide range of ealouring. This, 

 no doubt, has had much to do with increas- 

 ing the popularity of asters; and Avhen we 



take into consideration the length of time 

 the flowers remain in perfection, either when 

 cut or on the plauits, -and the variety of 

 purposes for which they may be employed, 

 there can be no doubt about the aster beins: 

 the most useful annual in cultivation, 

 a flo^ist^s flower tlie aster occupies the same 

 p^ace in summer as the chrysanthemum 

 does in the winter, and it nuiv be em- 

 ployed in like manner either ns a decarative 

 pot plant, for bedding, or for filling up 

 gaps in the heifbaceous borders. As cut 

 flowers for furnishing large vases and for 

 Wfreath-making the. flowers are iiuiispeJis- 

 ablc. 



To provi(h' a constant supply of cut 

 flowers through the summer and autumn 

 montlis it will be necessiary to make several 

 sowings, the first about the middle of Feb- 

 ruary. It is advisable to make this first 

 sowing in pans or boxes, using *4. light, rich 

 soil for the purpose. After the seeds are 

 M)wii, the boxes should be placed on the 

 greenhouse shelf near the glass, where a 

 temperature of from 50 to 55 degrees can 

 be maintained. It is not "advisable to raise 

 the early bati'lu s in a strong heat, as the 

 young |)'-nrLS are ^o liable to damp off close 

 to the t<KJt>, owing to the closeness of the 

 atmosphere in which they are growing. If 

 the boxes or pans are stood on a shelf where 

 there is a free circul-ation of air about 

 theui this is not so likely to happen as 

 wJien stood on a bed or stage further from 

 the iglass- When the young plants have 

 made three or four rough leaves, they 

 .should be pricke<l off into other boxes or 

 ])aiLSj and again returned to the green- 

 liouse shelf luitil estalblished ; afterU ards 

 thcv mav bo transferred to a cold frame to 

 harden off^ and then be either potted or 

 transplante<l about three inches apart in 

 cold framo.> where they can iremain until 

 the weather <'onditions are favoui'ab^e for 

 tra risf(M-rinu: llirin to the open ground. 



A second bat<'h .sliould be soiwn about the 

 -second week in March, but as the young 

 plants are so susceptible to damping off, a 

 light airy place should be provided for 

 them' until they are strong enough to be 

 pricked out. As the days will now be get- 

 ting longer this may 'be done in a co-Id 

 frame, or, if one is not at command, boxes 

 about three inches deep may be used. A 

 further sowing may be made in April, 

 either on a slight hotbed or in a coM frame, 

 due care being taken to- prevent the plants 

 from damping olf in their early stages. 



Double asters for cut flowers are largely 

 grown, the most popular kinds bein^ 

 Comet and Ostridi Plume. In some places 

 these are grown by the thou>^ands for cut- 

 tin.g, their finely shapf^l flowers standing 

 well up on long stems, and thus rendering 

 them most useful. These are the two 

 double kinds that are such favourites with 

 market growers, and are seen in such 

 abundance in the florists' shops. There is 

 also one known as the ^Mammoth which is 

 a great favourite. To produce the finest 



r 



flowers tlie plants must have ample room 

 for development. The dwarf er kinds 

 should be allo'Wed a distance of at least a 

 foot between them, while the taller ones 

 ought not to be plajited closer together than 

 eighteen inches. The flowers sihould be cut 

 before they are fully expanded, as they 

 will open in water, and keep fresh much 

 longer if they have not been exposed to the 

 full sunshine. 



Asters for Bedding:. 



As bedding plants asters are charming 

 suibjects, but for their full beauty to be 

 appreciated the colours shoidd be so used 

 as to harmonii^e with each other. The soft 

 and hard shades shouM not be planted to- 

 gether. The soil ought to have been pre- 

 viously well manured and deeply dug, as 

 the tall growing kinds are gross feeders, 

 and require a lot o.f nourishment. The 

 plants should also be allowed sufficient space 

 so that they may develop freely, as no- 

 thing detracts so much from the beauty of 

 a plant as overcrowding. It is not well, as 

 ■■^ ome advise, to plant two sectiouis together, 

 that is, quilled and pseony-flowered, single 

 and double, etc. fjach kind or section 

 shows to better advantage when planted 

 by itself ; therefore, when selecting the 

 kinds to grow, this ought to be taken into 

 con:sideration, as ta!l varieties do not look 

 well in small beds, neither do the dwarf 



ones show themselves to advantage in large 

 onos. 



1^'or sinall beds it is hetter to choose such 

 varieties as the Victoria or Bouquet, as 

 these do not grow more than a foot or fifteen 

 inches high, even when treated liberally. 

 Instead of edging the beds with very dwarf 

 quilled sorts, it is hotter by far to'^have a 

 distinct edging of something e'se that will 

 ■harmonise with them. For larger bed^. 

 such sorts as Comet, Ostrich Plume, Mam- 

 moth, Truffaut's Ptef)ny Perfection, and 

 the like may Ik^ <hosen, and these should 

 en no a<-count be overcrowded 



tr 



Asters for Pots. 



( nh*ss for large conservatories, it 



IS 



\yetiev to grow some of the medium kinds, 

 as the tall ones take u|) too mu<h room, 

 especially when the plants have to be stood 



on stages. 



Tho 



'however , who have 



;rouping to do indoors, or who have large 

 conservatories to decorate, would do w^e!l 

 to grow .somo of the giant kinds, as they 

 strand well up on 'long stems, and the pots 

 may be hidden iby plants of a dwarfer na- 

 ture To k(M'p up n coinstant supply for 

 this {)urpo>(' it win be necessary to make 

 several sowings at intervals of about tlue-^ 

 weeks. The soil used should be of a light 

 rich nature, and amp^e drainage afforded to 

 allow of the water passing away freely, for, 

 though these plants are gross feeders, they 

 resent sta.gnanl wiitcr about tlieir roots. 

 It is always preferable in hot weather to 

 have the pots plunged up to their rims, 

 as this not only keeps the soil more evenly 

 moist, but avoids the necessity of water- 

 ing so frequently. 



Sing:le Asters. 



During late years there lias been quite 

 a rage for single flo-wers of all descriptions, 

 even (the rose and dahlia must have their 

 single forms, and tlu>rr can be no doubt, 

 viewing them from an artistic point of view, 

 that these single forms are most beautiful, 

 their light, graceful appearance, either as 

 pot plants, or as cut flowers for furnishing 

 large vases, giving thcni a commanding 

 place in th<' floral worM. 



The long graceful petals of the single 

 astcts, loosely arranged round the disk, 

 make them very conspicuous. Then 

 the flowers last such a long time 

 in 2>erfeetion that one cannot fail to 

 appreciate their worth, espec^ially in 



the hot weather, when many othei 

 kinds so soon fade. The flowers bein 

 borne singly on the tips of long stems 

 sufficient strength to carry them upric^ht 

 enable us to employ them to greater ad- 

 vantage when arranging tall vases. There 

 are several types of these, tout the giant 

 forms are the most useful, being produced 

 on stems of from eighteen inches to two 

 feet in length. As pla,nts for filling up 

 the herbaceous Iborders they are invaluable 

 as they may be lifted and transplanted 

 with safety when the plants have attain(!d 

 a large size, but the best way of overcom- 

 ing any difficulty is to grow a quantity in 

 pots, as they could then be planted out even 

 in very hot weather without the least a^isk 

 of failure. The only car© necessary to en- 

 sure success would be to shade for a few 

 days from the brigiht sun, and to see the 

 plants did not suffer for lack of water 

 until established^ when they woidd take 

 care of themselves. 



Diseases. 



The aster, like all other plants, is liable 

 to the attack 0(f various pes.ts. h\ a yoimg 

 state there is ' * damping off, ' ' usually 

 caused throujgh the pla-nts growing in t(K) 

 close an atmosphere. Sometimes the plants 

 go off after being pi-anted out, and when 

 this occurs, they sihould be pulled un cn 

 the first signs of withering, and at once 

 destroyed. If examined it will be found 

 usually that a small caterpillar has eaten 

 the pith out of the stems, thus destroying 

 the plant's vitality. Asters are a^so Jiaible 

 to the :attack of fly, hut this can easily be 

 got rid of by syringing them with one of 

 the numerous insecticides that are on the 

 market. 



Then in very hot w^eather the plants are 

 liable to suffer from the attacks of red 

 spider and rust, but this is usually through 

 lack of moisture or insufficient nourishnieut 

 to keep them in a healthy condition. The 

 most troublesome pest the aster is siib3e<t 

 to is the saAvfly, as the lan^se of this insect 

 eats the pulp of the leaves, feeding under 

 the skin in the same way as the celery mag- 

 got does in the celery leaves. To ward 

 off the fly it is well to dusit the young plants 

 occasionally with soot, and the groimd 

 around them should be treated in like 

 manner. H. C. Prinsep. 



ion sLuuiio 



With the advent 



CHRYSANTHEMUM 



MRS. GEORGE RUNDLE. 



I am pleased to see attention drawn to tin 

 old favourite chrysanthemum, which was m 

 troduced by Rundle in 1^^" '^"'^ ^^^''^^ 

 many years seen on exhibi 



of the leading varieties. 



of larger-flowered sorts, naturally tlu^ 

 variety was ousted from favour because, no 

 matter how good it was as a tsniall flower, it 

 was not to be compared with larger and 

 equallv good blooms of other sorts. At Sliet- 

 field, ''Nottingham, and Hull the blooms 

 were, and are now, staged in triplets, ana 

 ci-eate much interest ; but where this variety 

 scored the most was in larger vases witii 

 long stems, with its own foliage, and 

 least a dozen blooms together. Here we haa 

 decorative effect of the highest order, espe- 

 cially if a few trails of Ampelopsis Veitchi, 

 croton leaves, or Asparagus Sprengen were 

 added. 



For growing at the foot of a south wall 



open, this is an admirable variety, 

 opening its blossoms early and of full siz 

 when disbudded to single flowers on a t^tein- 

 Grown in this way, it was a great favourite 

 in gardens around Liverpool thirty-ii\ 



in the 



gard 

 Ycarfii ago 



e 



As^'a" standard, in pots no 



ea '7 

 I 



variety was ever more ]>opular, as evinced I 

 the displays at the Brighton shows, and i 

 see no reason why it should not l>e agan 

 popular, but, unfortunately, size it^ ^ 

 that governs nowadays. ^* 



