Georgia Gardener Newsletter Cool Plant: June 1, 2006
Blue Danube Stokes' Aster
Stokesia laevis 'Blue Danube'
Blue Danube Stokes' aster is an early summer blooming perennial with bluish-purple 2.5 inch
aster-like flowers on 12-18 inch stems. The strap-like foliage is
evergreen and remains neatly compact through the winter.
Plant Stokes' aster in full sun to light shade with well-drained soil.
This plant is not fussy and very easy to grow. It can produce a number of
seedlings around the parent plant. However, these are easily controlled
by removing the spent flowers or simply transplanting the seedlings to other
locations.
Mix Stokes' aster with other sun-loving perennials in a flower bed, cottage garden
or wildflower meadow. It can also be used as edging at the
front of a full sun bed with shrubs or in a rose garden. In the picture above,
the Stokes' aster has been planted with our native orange-flowered milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa),
which is a host plant for the Monarch Butterfly.
For more information on Blue Danube Stokes' aster, visit this
website.
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