904 
the gardening world . 
November 12. 1904. 
Hardy Herbaceous Border. 
Late flowering Asters — In a representative collection of 
these useful border plants those varieties which flower during 
the end of October and the first half of November are a most 
useful section and deserve far more attention than they receive 
at present, not only for making a, bright display when such a 
few other plants arei in bloom, but also on account of tlheir 
value for cutting purposes:. All who appreciate these beautiful 
flowers desire to maintain a show of bloom as late as, possible 
into the autumn, and though the time of flowering of the early 
October varieties can lie regulated and made later by taking 
cuttings or dividing late in the, spring, yet, the undermentioned 
sorts are naturally late flowering and deserve inclusion in 
every garden, which aims at having a first-class collection. 
A. cordifolius White Diana. — This I consider to be one of 
thei best Michaelmas Daisies' in cultivation on account of its 
exceedingly graceful habit, and pure colour. In habit, it is 
the exact counterpart of that well-known variety A. c. Diana, 
but it has a much more robust constitution, and consequently 
stands the winter better and isi freer in growth. The colour, 
however, is pure white when, the flowers are fully expanded,’ 
which adds' greatly to its value for decorative work, as the 
number of pure white Asters suitable for this purpose is far 
too small. This variety was raised by the late Dev. Wolley 
Dod, from whom we received it several years ago, in company 
with other good sorts. 
A. Coombe-Fishacre. —An older variety and one of great 
value, as it, withstands wet weather well. It grows about *3 ft. 
in height, with pleasing flesh-coloured flowers and splendid 
habit, branching out freely from the base. When, well tied 
out, it isi fine for bedding purposes. Of this there is; a white 
variety recently raised', and from the reports it is, no doubt, a 
great acquisition, but, unfortunately, inferior plants are often 
sent out for this. 
E. ericoides.— In spite of the fact that this Aster wasintrb- 
duced nearly two centuries ago, one seldom sees the true species 
in, gardens,. This: is to- be regretted, as it is, in every way most 
desirable. The habit is closely branching, the stems being 
thickly covered with very fine foliage 1 , and 1 the plant is a cloud 
of white when in flower. 
A. Esther. —For decorative purpose®, especially under 1 arti¬ 
ficial light, I do not, know of a, more pleasing variety than this, 
the colour 1 being a beautiful shell-pink. It, fya® medium-sized 
flowers', which are borne profusely on very branching stems. 
The height isi about 2-| ft. 
A. Jessie Crum.— Another variety of the late Rev. W. Dod’s 
raising and a, most distinct and excellent one, growing about, 
4-J ft. in height, and having a somewhat compact, habit similar 
to many of the Novi-Belgii forms. The colour is a warm pink. 
A. diffusus horizontalis. —As the name implies, this has a 
horizontally branching habit and grows 2^ ft. high, quite dif¬ 
ferent, to others of the diffusus section. The colour of the in¬ 
numerable small flowers' is a deep red disc or centre, and pure 
white petals, a, unique one among Asters. It, is, excellent for 
table decoration,, etc., under artificial light, and 1 associates well 
with autumn foliage. 
A. vimineus.— Another very old species with an excellent 
habit and small flowers, not quite so pure in whiteness, as those 
of A. ericoide®. This varies much in height according to the 
soil, but, with us it reaches quite 3 ft, 
A. multiflorus —The pure white flowers and small, pale, 
green foliage of this always make it a favourite where grown, 
and given good cultivation it reaches a height of 4?, ft." 
This by no mean® exhausts the list of late-flowering Asters 
but it is a selection of the best varieties which can be recom¬ 
mended to those who are desirous of obtaining the most ser¬ 
viceable and beautiful of these too-littla grown plants. 
Kniphofia glaucescens. —This is, undoubtedly, one of the 
most useful and also one of the hardiest of the family, which 
with us commences to throw up it® flower-spikes at the be 
ginning of November and oontiniuesi till the end of the month. 
The, colour of the flowers isi pale red, and these are not at all 
injured by frost, as with many of the others'. 
Aldemham House Gardens, Elsitree. A. E. Thatcher. 
Among the Orchids. 
Pleiones.-— Belonging undoubtedly to the genus Coelogyne, 
to which they have been, transferred by botanists, they are 
probably best, known, in gardens as Pleione or Indian Crocus. 
It is therefore desirable for the, purpose of this column that 
they should be placed under this name for cultivation purposes, 
by which they are the most easily identified. The three or four 
species 1 familiar to gardens are not grown to the extent that 
their merits deserve, for there are certainly no more attractive 
subjects' than well-flowered pans or baskets of these plants. 
The flowers are produced during October, November and De¬ 
cember, and 1 if placed in a fairly diy and light position, where 
’ there is, not, an, excessive heat, the blooms last a long time in 
perfection. The plants may be used with safety for house 
decorative purposes, provided they are placed in positions 
where they are not exposed to draughts from the windows when 
ventilating the rooms, They are also decidedly plant® that 
may be recommended to< amateur cultivators who can com¬ 
mand a temperature of 55 to, 60 deg. during the winter months 
(normal temperature). The plants would take no harm during 
periods of lower temperatures, providing they were retained 
under drier condition® both at the root® and in the atmosphere 
during the prevalence of cold outside conditions. 
Cultural Requirements. —Annual repotting is advisable and 
should be done a® soon after the plant® have passed out of 
flower as possible. The flowers being produced from the centre 
of the advancing growth, these new growths generally com¬ 
mence to root while the plants are in flower, so that by re¬ 
potting before the roots have become far advanced, there is 
less possibility of their being injured in the process of re¬ 
potting ; and a still greater advantage is in the,fact that the 
roots may at, once get away into the new material, and are thus 
able to become re-established with the least possible risk of 
detrimental effects. The compost I prefer is a mixture of one- 
third chopped sphagnum, one-third fibrous peat, and the re¬ 
mainder composed: of turfy loam, leaf-soil and sufficient rough 
sand or finely broken crock to render the whole porous. The 
pots used should be drained to, at least two-thirds of their depth 
with clean broken crocks, so that there may be no possibility 
of stagnation about the roots. 
When all is ready for repotting turn the plants out of their 
pots', carefully remove all the old potting material and cut away 
all dead and deleaving matter about, the plants, dealing with 
each, plant as their circumstance® require. They*will be now 
ready for repotting. Place a, layer of the coarser portions of 
the potting compost over the crocks and commence putting the 
individual plants in position, commercing from the centre, 
allowing about an inch of space between each plant, and fill 
in the space between with the potting compost, pressing 
moderately firm. The surface after repotting'may be covered 
with a layer of chopped living sphagnum moss, which cer¬ 
tainly adds to the appearance of the plants where the moss can 
be induced to grow satisfactorily. When potting is com¬ 
pleted, water with rain-water poured through a. moderately 
coarse rose on the' watering-can, thoroughly wetting the com¬ 
post through. Very little water will he required afterwards 
until the new growth gets well advanced. When they reach 
full growth an ample amount of root moisture is required until 
