NEW ROSE. This has been a standard sort for many years. Nearly or quite
2 feet in height. Handsome flowers of regular form, imbricated like a
rose. Many shades.
TRUFFAUT'S PAEONY-FLOWERED. For more than a generation this has been a
standard. It is sometimes shown at exhibitions in a fourth of a hundred
distinct shades. It is tall, with a profusion of very large globular
flowers. An old but showy variety.
VICTORIA. Esteemed by many the very best Asters in existence. Fine for
pots, bedding or flower shows. Flowers are three or four inches across,
or even larger, and these are perfection as to form. There are over a
score of shades, among them colors as rare and as lovely as the cloud
tints of sunrise.
[Illustration: ASTER SHAKESPEARE]
COCARDEAU OR CROWN is another old but not superseded sort. The center of
the flower is of small quilled petals, pure white in color. This center
is surrounded by a wide ring of flat ray petals of bright color. 18
inches tall. Pretty, odd and showy, but by no means as superb a flower
as some of the others.
QUILLED GERMAN. Another oddity, of about equal value with the Crown
Asters. 2 feet high and branching. The flowers are quilled like those of
some Dahlias.
DWARF BOUQUET. One of the smallest of all. Only 6 to 8 inches tall, very
uniform, each a pyramid of pretty flowers. About a dozen colors are in
this strain. Used for edging.
SHAKESPEARE. A fine sort for borders. About 6 inches tall, a solid mass
of large globular flowers from top to bottom. There are several colors.
SNOWBALL. 10 to 12 inches high, of a symmetrical habit and bearing
exquisitely beautiful flowers of the large Chrysanthemum type. The color
is a pure white.
[Illustration: TRUFFAUT'S PAEONY-FLOWERED ASTER]
VICK'S BRANCHING ASTERS. The Vicks have always been famous for their
Asters, and this is the triumph of their skill. These grow the tallest
of all Asters, and require more than ordinary space because of their
wide branching habit. Largely grown by florists. It is a late variety,
and its magnificent, large and informal flowers are often mistaken for
the finest Japanese Chrysanthemums. The flowers are of extraordinary
size and are long-stemmed. It comes in snowy-white, pink, lavender,
crimson, and purple shades. Pure White is esteemed the finest of the
lot, with Daybreak, a lovely sea-shell pink, as a close second. Daybreak
is earlier than the type.
JAPANESE. Known also as the Ostrich Plume Asters, a name which exactly
describes them. About 15 inches tall. The curled flowers are of enormous
size, 5 to 6 inches across. About 10 colors, some of them most unusual
ones.
GIANT SILVER-TIPPED. These are of dwarf habit, but have blossoms of the
largest size. These beautiful flowers, whatever their color, are tipped
silvery white. An exceptional good pot variety.
SEMPLE'S MARVEL. This is another favorite with professional growers.
They are 20 inches to 2 feet tall, and of branching habit. This is
rather a late Aster. The flowers are of much substance, and are perfect
in form and rich in color.
COMET. The best known of the curly Chrysanthemum-flowered type. There
are two or three strains of this, varying a little as to habit. They
range from 14 inches to 2 feet in height, and bear those large, loose,
feathered flowers that find so many admirers. The broad outer petals are
reflexed. The inner petals are shorter and curve and curl toward the
center. These grand flowers come in several beautiful shades.
[Illustration: ASTER "DAYBREAK"]
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