I love This Aster

Stokesia laevis 'Peachie's Pick' also known as Stokes' Aster.
Isn't she lovely!

As you can see, there is nothing peachy or apricot about this Stokes' Aster! It's the prettiest lavender blue.

Stokesia laevis is not native to the Central Basin or for that matter to Tennessee, but, it is one of my favorite wildflowers. It has a lot going for it~fantastic color, evergreen foliage, a decently long bloom time, a pollinator magnet and it plays well with others in the garden.

But, it languished in the garden the first season I planted it. It slowly started to disappear. Once I figured out that it "brooks no poorly drained, heavy clay soil" we started getting along much better.

IMHO, 'Peachie's Pick' is the best stokesia I've seen!

Stokes' Aster is lovely, but, the cultivar 'Peachie's Pick' is the best I've ever seen. Imagine, luscious lavender blue flowers, standing straight and tall on deep green stems. Of course I grabbed three plants and headed home.

Having failed with species Stokes' Aster~I was prepared to give Peachie the garden conditions she needed~Dry feet all winter, even moisture all summer and plenty of sun. I planted them in the Susan's Bed, right next to the soaker hose, in soil amended with gravel to improve drainage. She's thrived ever since!

I'm not the only one at C and L who loves this flower~Pollinators of all shapes and sizes stop by for a bit of nectar and pollen. (More about pollen and nectar at Lip Smacking Deliciousness)

The skippers are my favorite of the Peachie's Pick visitors. They are darling little butterflies that seem to skip from flower to flower, barely resting, but, they always stop to feed on the stokesia. Seeing them everyday flitting about assures me that I am doing the right things in this garden to create a healthy garden habitat. (Eye, Eye, Skipper~A Big Eyed Pollinator) Randy has identified these skippers as female Sachem. Thank you!

Look at that beetle chomp away on the pollen! Beetles are important pollinators, too.

Beetles~ They're all about themselves, just there to chomp on the pollen, but, they do a decent job of pollinating while they're dining. Unless, they start eating the petals I don't mind if they hang around Peachie.

You're probably wondering how I could tease you with this absolutely marvelous plant if you can't grow it.

I must apologize for teasing gardeners who live further north than Tennessee with this fantastic plant. Stokesia is a native of the Southeastern states where it's found growing in moist pine flatlands on slightly acid soil. It's a stretch to grow it at Clay and Limestone with my nearly neutral clay soil with dry summers and wet winters. But, it's worth a bit of effort. Maybe you should try it. Just remember~No Winter Wet Feet!

If you aren't crazy about the lavender flowers of 'Peachie's Pick' ~You might like Stokesia laevis 'Mary Gregory' with yellow flowers.

xxoogail

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.