Fleabane

Fleabane (Erigeron) - Michaelmas Daisy-like plants of dwarf growth, somewhat alike in general appearance, and having pink or purple flowers with yellow centres. They flourish in any garden soil, and some are of a weedy nature. One or two are best suited for the rock garden; of these, E. alpinum grandiflorum is the finest. It is similar to the alpine Aster, having large heads of purplish flowers in late summer, and remaining in beauty a long time. Suitable for the rock garden and well-drained borders. Division or seed. E. Roylei, a Himalayan plant, is another good alpine, of very dwarf, tufted growth, having large blossoms of a bluish-purple with yellow eye. By far the best of the taller kinds is E. (Stenactis) speciosus, a vigorous species, with erect stems that grow about 2 1/2 feet high, and bear during June and July many large purplish lilac Aster-like flowers with conspicuous orange centres. E. macranthus, another showy species, is of a neat habit and about 1 foot high. It bears an abundance of large, purple, yellow-eyed blossoms in summer, and, like E. speciosus, will grow in any soil. E. mucronatus, known also as Vittadenia triloba, is a valuable border flower, neat and compact, and for several weeks in summer is a dense rounded mass of bloom about 9 inches high. The flowers are pink when first expanded, and afterwards change to white, and the plant therefore presents every intermediate shade. Other kinds in gardens are E. multiradiatus, glabellus, glaucus, bellidifolius, strigosus, and philadelphicus—the last two being the prettiest. All are easily increased by division in autumn or spring. The most effective and useful of the genus is E. speciosus, which is excellent for groups or borders.