February i, 1908. 
67 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
The Single . , 
Ghina flster 
(Callistephus hortensis.) 
Very often this plant is named Aster 
chinensis, but it differs from the true 
Asters, which are hardy border peren¬ 
nials ; yet it is convenient to use China 
Aster as a popular name by which it is 
universally known. The double forms 
have taken such a hold upon the public 
fancy, that the original single and wild 
one was altogether ignored for many 
years. By some lucky chance seeds of the 
single form were re introduced, and lovers 
of flowers, but particularly those who use 
them for decorative purposes, re-dis- 
covered a plant of great beauty and use¬ 
fulness. Indeed, for artistic decoration in 
a variety of ways it would be difficult to 
beat the single Aster, and certainly none 
of its double relatives could do so, be¬ 
cause, beautiful as they are, they are too 
solid and heavy for tasteful decorative 
work in the cut state. 
The first single one that was introduced 
had a beautiful shade of mauve-blue 
- Alpine - 
(Saponaria ocymoides floribunda.) 
A Choice . . 
The ordinary form of S. ocymoides and 
at least one well marked variety has been 
in cultivation for many years. They are 
suitable for planting on rock w'ork on 
account of their dwarf habit, free flower¬ 
ing character, and the general neatness 
of the plants. If anything, the variety 
now under notice is an improvement in 
the matter of profusion of flowers, for the 
stems seem to be shortened by reason of 
the large number of flowers produced. 
The plant we photographed was growing 
in a pot, and that, of course, would help 
the dwarfness of habit. The flowers are 
soft pink and produced in dense cymes 
terminating each shoot, and in the case 
of this particular plant these leafy stems 
were only 3 in. long, but were completely 
hidden by the flowers. The leaves aie 
small and lanceolate, so that this piant 
would take rank with such neat rock 
plants as Gypsophila cerastioides and 
Phlox amoena. 
When planted out on the rockery, a 
position should be selected where the 
roots will have plenty of depth of soil to 
get beyond the influence of drought and 
enjoy abundant sunshine, so as to harden 
the stems of these mountain plants. When 
grown in pots they require to be plunged 
in ashes or else placed in cold frames 
under the same conditions, so that rain 
may be kept out of the pots during winter. 
Being perfectly hardy, there is no neces¬ 
sity for protection, except for the sake of 
the pots during frosty weather. Our 
photograph was taken in the Alpine 
House at Kew during the second week of 
June. 
-- 
Saponaria ocymoides ficribunda. Mcclarcn and Sons. 
flowers, but since then a number of single 
varieties have been evolved and at last 
obtainable in mixture, but we have no 
doubt that each colour could be fixed in 
the single ones just as in the dauble gar¬ 
den varieties. Our illustration represents 
a clump of seedlings in the herbaceous 
ground at Kew. and although the camera 
represents them as being much of the 
same colour, or even white, there were, 
nevertheless, blue and pink varieties in 
a number of shades. W e think the 
original mauve-blue variety still the best 
of the colours we have seen, but, of course, 
that is merely a matter of individual 
taste. 
Callistephus hortensis. 
M-aclaren and Sons. 
