260 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE 
Vpbil 12. 1913, 
LARGE ANNUAL ASTERS. I 
It may appear strange to admit it, 
but the fact remains that in these times 
1 8(jw no annual flower seeds beyond siu^eet 
peas and asters. A garden of annuals is a 
delight, but those who, like myself, want 
to make gardening easy, shirk the trouble, 
be it ever so little, that many annuals 
incur. By growing bulbs, herbaceous 
plants, and roses, I obtain practically all 
the flowers I desire, and so I worry not 
about seeds other than those named. 
The aster gives the maximum of plea¬ 
sure with no great amount of trouble, and 
the flowers are very muoh below the 
stocks produced in the United States, 
where climatic conditions are much more 
favourable to the highest development of 
this flower. 
It may surprise some to learn that cer¬ 
tain American varieties of asters reach 
nearly four feet in height, and the special 
market blooms have stems up to three feet 
in length, while prices as high as four 
shillings per dozen have been made. This 
is a very different return from w^hat is 
usually secured here, where rates rarely 
transplanted to where they are to flow.- 
I always grow one row^ of asters betwe 
eiich row of sw^eet peas; the rest of 
plants are put where there is roo«. 
If ^ere is a spot in the kitchen gar^Vr-’ 
available asters are planted, and thX 
come in useful for lifting when in flow« 
Sowing in heat and pricking out is wnt- 
of time, and, as often as not, it'metm 
drawn, w eakly plants, which receive a l Ik ’* 
when planted out. Asters, if once ohwke^ 
never make good plants, and by tra^ 
planting straight from the seed, bed c 
avoids the second shift. Further, opet j 
ground sowing means no trouble frca ' 
“ damping off.” When planting out, nev.r 
set deeply, and remove any fpdiage iL; 
touches the soil. Deep planting, aod ! 
allowing foliage to decay, invariably 
6 ults in wholesale dying off.,"often just 
when the jilants are running ter bud. 
Flowers blush pink, and when well grown about Sin. in diameter. 
by cultivating the giant, mid-season, and 
late types, one can almost dispense w’ith 
the early chrysanthemums. Early asters 
do not appeal to me, neither do the dwarf 
types. These I quietly ignore, as they are 
only suitable for edges or bedding, and my 
garden prohibits their use. Ultra early 
forms are scarcely required when so many 
other flowers are available, and so I survey 
the efforts of those who aim to get asters 
in June without the least enthusiasm. 
The asters I have favoured for some 
years past are the American forms. Ex¬ 
perience has proved that there are no finer 
seeds than American-grown, and, taken 
collectively, the American asters are 
superior to the average European, parti¬ 
cularly if one can secure the .specially se¬ 
lected stocks such as are grown by the 
Americah market men. Asters are very 
largely grown in this country for the 
markets, but the quantity and quality of 
exceed six shillings per dozen bunches, or 
about one gross of blooms. Although I 
have never been able to equal the Ameri¬ 
can sizes, I have often cut flowers five to 
six and a-half inches across on stems 
twenty to tw^enty-four inches long, and 
the object I have always in mind when 
growing flowers is their value for cutting. 
So far as asters are concern^ it is 
quite a simple matter to get big blooms 
and long stems if one handles the right 
types. Moreover, one needs no green¬ 
house ; not even a frame. 
I raise my asters, as do most of the 
Americans, by sowing in the open ground 
about the first of May. Drills half an 
inch deep are made between the sweet pea 
rows, and newrspaper is laid over the rows 
until the seedlings are through. If at 
all crowded, some of them are pulled out, 
and later, when carrying a few leaves, and 
about one and a-half inches tall, they are 
The best soil for asters is a v ^ 
and plenty of rotten manure 
used, but on no account use fresh nii , 
in the spring. Failing the right 
manure, use dried blood, or fish 4- 
with a fair addition of 
Potash is most essential, and 
form is perhaps the best; u^ 
whatever, or the plants will run 
and easilv become a prey to disea^- 
liberally "before planting, and ^ 
between the plants several 4;^^^ 
the ,season. Keep the hoe everl^^mj^ 
on the move, and give plenty oi 
dry weather. ^ mxi^l 
Mulching is useful, but I ne 
Some of the big American 
their fields by the Skinner overheaa .^ 
tern, and along the Pacific Coas * . 
essential, for there is little or no 
throughout the summer. rpaui*^ 
The tall varieties of asters 
