Evening star., 1936-08-29
BY J. w. WELLINGTON.


Tor pleasing shades Of blue
- lilac. pink and rose, the home
gardener may turn to the hardy
a asters with surety of SatiSfac-
ton. They are particularly valuable
because of their season of bloom, Sep
tember and October. Unlike the dahlia
they are resistant to frost, comparing
very we'll with the chrysanthemums In
this respect. Aster Nova-Angliae. OF
violet blue, Is a selection Of the wild
New England aster which graces road
sides in Autumn. There are many
varieties of hardy asters, one leading
seed and nursery firm offering IL
kinds, including Barris Pink, Liege
October Dawn, Queen Mary, Blue
Bouquet, Blue Eyes, Mount Everest
and Pink Nymph.
The hardy asters are Of the SIM
plest culture and, like chrysanthe.
NUNS, they are propagated by division
Of the old plants. Grown in groups
these asters are capable of making a
brilliant display in the September and
OCVOpeE SdIucH.
In addition to the tall-growing va
rieties mentioned above, there has
been introduced recently a group OF
dwarf hybrid asterS which grow only
9 to IL inches tall and have great
value in the perennial border and
rockery paintings.
Pear BLIGHT,
Known also as fire blight because OF
the rapid killing of infected limbs. this
disease is the worst enemy OF the
pear and also does much damage to
ounces, apples. ornamental crabs
cotoneasters and other members OF
the rose family. Were it not for this
blight, good quality pears of the type
of Seckel, Bose and Bartlett could
be grown in local home gardens. Each
year many trees are planted and grow
nicely until they reach Towering age,
when they may succumb in week or
two if inection starts. Insects, visit
ing blooms in their search of nectar,
are believed to be important agents
in distributing the bacteria and rain
also figures by washing the bacteria
on to lower branches. There has been
a great deal of work done on the dis
ease, but control methods still are
far from adequate. Commercial
growers cut out the infected twigs as
soon as they appear, using knives
that are repeatedly dipped in disin-
fectants. In addition, attempts are
made to cut out cankers in the
crotches Of limbs where the disease
stays over Winters. Spraying with
bordeaux mixture when the flowers
are open also has proved of value, but
there Is no panacea.
The Keiffer pair Is highly resistant
to the blight and for this reason Is
grown widely, despite a rather in
ferior quality. The usual pears differ
somewhat in their susceptibility and
this Is the only hopeful outlook,
namely, that in time varieties will be
bred that combine good quality with
high resistance.
The pear is such a desirable fruit
tiioS AIS ICtuTA W CIlc 1lOII1e &aIQen
would be q blessing. Fruit growing is
becoming more and more difficult for
the home gardener as insects and
diseases increase. There really is no
fruit that can be grown without
spraying except, perhaps, the straw
berry, and its yields may be increased
by control OF leaf spot diseases.
Phl0x Mildew.
Mildew Is the grayish, powdery
fungus that attacks the leaves and
stems Of the tall garden phlox, caus-
ing the leaves to drop early and the
plants to look straggly and old before
their season. Mildew is widely dis
tributed 'over an extended group of
different plants, and hence there is
little or no chance to escape infection
by isolation. However, phlox planted
in q bright, sunny location is less
liable to severe defoliation, because
the sun and air dry of the foliage