370 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
PERENNIAL ASTERS (MICHAELMAS DAISIES) 
AT WISLEY, 1920. 
One hundred and sixty-eight stocks of perennial Asters were received 
for trial at Wisley in the autumn of 1 91 9. They were planted on 
deeply dug ground, which had been manured, in groups of three of a 
variety. The plants were two feet apart and six feet separated one 
group from the next. 
Some stocks failed, or were wrongly named, and are not further 
referred to below, namely, Nos. 4, 38, 39, 66, 104, 124, 126, 128, 142, 
I53» 155- The remainder made good growth, and during September 
and October proved a most attractive feature of the garden and aroused 
a great deal of interest among visitors. 
Perhaps in no group of hardy perennials has so great a number of 
very good garden plants been raised during the last thirty years, and 
it is interesting to compare the lists of those grown in 1902 (R.H.S. 
Jour., vol. xxvii. p. 638) and 1907 (R.H.S. Jour., vol. xxxiii. p. 184), 
when the change will at once become apparent. 
The following, represented in the present trial, have had awards 
in previous years, but were not judged of sufficient excellence to figure 
with those recommended for awards by the Judging Committee which 
inspected the trials on various occasions. 
115. Ophir [A.M. 1902 (V. Gibbs) ] ; 66. Hilda Morris [A.M. 1907 (Jones)] ; 
108. Maidenhead [A.M. 1908 (Gibbs) ] ; 85, 86. Peggy Ballard [A.M. 1910 
(Ballard)]; 41. St. Egwyn [A.M. 1907 (Pollard)]; 11. White Queen [A.M. 
1907 (Barr) ] ; 89. Cloudy Blue [A.M. 1914 (Ballard)] ; 84. King Albert [A.M. 
1915 (Ballard)] ; 96, 97. Joan Vaughan [A.M. 1917 (Baker)] ; 99. Rose Queen 
[A.M. 1919 (Baker)]. 
In the descriptive notes which follow we have grouped the varieties 
first, according to height, then in each height-group, according to 
colour, and whether single or semi-double. The order under each colour- 
heading is to start with the lighter shades of the colour and progress 
step by step to the darker. In the notes on the individual varieties 
the time of flowering is indicated, and in brackets after each 
description the name of the " type " to which it may be assigned 
is given, as a guide to the habit of the plant. The Novi- 
Belgii and Novae- Angliae forms are of erect growth and fioriferous 
habit ; the ericoides, vimineus, and diffusus forms are of bushy growth 
and bear numerous small flowers along the arching shoots ; the 
amellus group are dwarf, large-leaved, and bear few but large and 
showy flowers. The others noted are well-known species. 
One of the drawbacks of many perennial Asters is their proneness 
to running from the base so that they tend quickly to monopolize a 
large space. This was much more noticeable in the old than in the 
