Evening star., 1942-09-19

to find some that suit his need;
both as to color and height.
The colors of the hardy asters are
mainly in the many shades Of blue.
although there are whites, reds and
pinks. While some varieties have
rather small individual flowers,
there are others with blossoms that
are two inches and more in diam
eter. The heights OF the hard,
asters will vary according to variety
and to soil conditions. but most
types will be found within the range
of az to feet.
This is the season to look about
and select varieties for spring plant
ing. Many of the natives are at
tractive and worth trying in the
garden, but do not overlook the
named varieties. The English gar
deners have done wonders with our
roadside weed. Bars Pink, Climax,
Mauve Queen, st. Egwin and Mrs.
F. w. Raynor are among the older
varieties that are still very much
worth having. Harringtons Pink,
Red Cloud, Ryecroft Pink, Ryecroft
Purple, Beechwood Challenger, Blue
Plume, Mammoth and Mount
Rainier are some of the newer va
rieties that are distinct additions.
While the above plants are prod
ucts of the two species mentioned
at the beginning. there are other
hardy members of this family that
should not be overlooked. Aster
frikarti is comparatively low-grow-
ing, somewhat sprawling in habit,
and not especially easy to trans
plant, but once established it is ex-
ceptionally desirable. The long
Towering season and the large Law
ender- blue flowers make 1t a splen-
did cutting flower.
Mauve Cushion is q low-growing,
bushy plant somewhat like Aster
alpinps which is so useful in the
rock garden Mauve Cushion is In
some respects more desirable than
the dwarf hybrids that flower in
the late summer. (Alpinus Is
spring Towering asterl
1t was pointed out above that
these asters respond to good cul-
ture. They are strong growing and
unless they are dug, thinned out,
and the soil enriched they will soon
become too crowded for best results.
The hardy asters multiply very
rapidly and it is desirable to thin
them even more ruthlessly than we
are supposed to thin our chrysan-
themums.
1t is generally recommended to
set single shoots IS to Is inches
apart, although those who make a
speciality OF growing hardy asters
space them up to three feet apart
in the row. However, such growers
normally plant sections Of the old
clump rather than in dividual
shoots.
Since the asters flower in the
late summer when growing condi-
tions are oftentimes very unfavor-
able, a soil well enriched with rotted
COW manure and compost is consid-
cred the most suitable. Any garden
loan that is well supplied with hui
mus is satisfactory.
Stalking is quite important since
these plants are rather shallow
rooted. The tall-growing plants
with such large flower heads hold
considerable moisture and if the
rain is accompanied by strong winds
they are easily blown over. Some
gardeners use heavy stakes to which
several stalks may be tied. Others
favor several light but strong stakes
which make less conspicuous sup
port. Or, one may use the wire
cages which are still less conspic-
uous.
The hardy asters seem to be COM
paratively immune to disease and
insect pests. This is to be expected
of native wildflower that has had
to fend for itself. However, the
aster beetle feeds on the open flow
ers, and occasionally one sees
plant that has been attacked by a
wilt disease. The wilt disease is
best controlled by pulling and burn
ing any plant whose leaves are mot
tied and then turn yellow. Plant
only healthy suckers.