6 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
May 1, 1908 
Ro a — = 3 All the leading varieties, half-standards, ls. each 
QD A 
EX run it Trees 3 Orange, Lemon, Peach, Apple, Pear, Plum, etc 
HARDY SHRUBS, Trees, Climbers, etc. 
BULBS, Hyacinth, Daffodil, Anemone, Tuberose, 
cp) Gladiolus. 
G5 EX » => D> 5 3 Vegetable and Flower. feat cieal tical Horticultural Sundries in great var et.y 
E. & W. HACKETT, 
Seedsmen, Nurserymen, &c., 
73 Rundle Street, Adelaide. 
The Flower Garden. 
GIANT COMET ASTER. 
The Aster. 
[By J. Croniy.] 
Asters, or Michaelmas daisies as they 
are commonly termed, are perennial her- 
baceous plants blooming during the late 
summer and autumn months. The genus 
is a large one, over a hundred species 
being known. Most of the species are of 
little account as decorative plants for the 
garden, while others, and varieties raised 
© from them, are worthy of a place in most 
gardens. The principal objection to many 
. asters was their long and straggling habit 
, of growth, but most of the kinds now 
, generally grown are dwarf and compact. 
. The range of color is not wide; the 
‘majority of the species and their varieties 
| produce flowers of shades of blue, purple, 
“lavender, a*few’ bearing~ white flowers: > 
The plants are hardy and-very fioriferous, 
and are specirlly suitable for mixed groups 
or borders where they supply, a. quantity 
of flowers of unusual and pleasing shades 
of colors at a time of comparative scarcity. 
The flowers are valuable for decoration, 
lasting well when cut from the plants, 
The genus aster at one time included 
many shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and 
annuals, now referred to other genera, 
including Callistephus, commonly known 
as the China aster. For the purpose of 
these notes the China aster may be re- 
ferred to, as it is unlikely that it will he 
known under any other name than the 
present common one. A number of var- 
leties of the China aster have been raised 
by florists, many of them being of no 
exceptional merit. They are favorites 
with numerous gardeners, amateur and 
professional, although their season of 
blooming is comparatively short. Many 
diverse forms are obtainable, and the 
general habit of growth of the best 
varieties is neat and compact. The 
flowers are valuable for deooration, last- 
_ing well in water, 
The cultivation of the perennial asters 
is exceedingly simple. They will thrive 
in any fair garden soil, having a fair pre 
ferrence for soil that will be cool and 
fairly moist during the growing season 
. They will grow fairly with a little atten- 
tion in the matter of manuring and 
' watering, but repay any special care in 
those directions. In fairly rich soils and 
_ situations, where they are allowed room 
to expand, they will not require to be 
removed and replanted for several years. 
In poor soils, and under hot and harsh 
conditions, it is advisable to lift the 
plants and transplant into manured soil 
each season. The usual method of increase 
ts by division of the parent crown in 
autumn or spring. A small division will 
develop into a fairly large plant during 
the season of growth. -Pliants may be 
struck from cuttings in spring, but this 
Telephone 350 
method is rarely practised except by 
nurserymen when desiring a rapid in- 
crease of a scarce kind, New varieties 
are raised from seeds, which should be 
sown in light soil in spring. Seeds saved 
from some of the newer hybrid kinds 
may produce varieties varying in some 
respect from the parent The general 
cultivation of the perennial aster during 
the growing season consists mainly in 
keeping the soil fairly moist during dry 
weather, and training the plants to stakea 
where necessary, Tall growing varieties 
may be cut back when about a foot in 
height, which will have the effect of 
dwarfing them a good deal. A number of 
varieties and species of aster are available 
in the different nurseries. 
The China asters are annuals, and must 
be raised each season from seed. They 
are classed as half-hardy, a classification 
that denotes inability to resist normal 
winter conditions. Seeds should be sown 
in spring, September and October being 
the most euitable months for these and 
most other annuals of alike nature. To 
get good results, seed should be sown in 
boxes of light soil, and when the young 
ee ES 
| © YIOTORIA ASTER, 
