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One of our favourite discoveries of recent years is stokesia, a member of the daisy family resembling a shorter, stockier cornflower. Throughout summer a profusion of striking, fringed flowers adorns the naturally rounded cushions of leathery, strap-like, semi-evergreen foliage. A magnet for bees and butterflies as well as excellent cut flowers, these unusual plants make an intriguing addition to the front of a border, edge of a path, or container display. For this collection we have brought together three exciting and different varieties. ‘Divinity’ has pure white flowers, ‘Mels Blue’ has violet, cornflower-blue blooms, and ‘Mega Mels’ is a showier, larger version of this with flowers reaching up to 10-12cm across. Stokesia is typically found towards the edge of conifer woods throughout SE USA. For best results, grow in fertile, moist, well-draining, neutral to acid soil in sull sun. Avoid areas prone to winter waterlogging, and provide a dry winter mulch if you can. Stokesia is hardy to between -5 and -10 C, so able to cope with the average UK winter. H: 40cm S: 40cm.
Flower and Foliage Months
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Key Information
| Included In this Collection | Stokesia Divinity 9cm pot | Stokesia Mega Mels 9cm pot | Stokesia Mel’s Blue 9cm pot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latin Name | Stokesia Divinity 9cm pot | ||
| Common Name | Stokes Aster | ||
| Hardiness | H4 (-5 to -10°C) | ||
| Colour | White | ||
| Type | Perennial | ||
| Format | 9cm Pots | ||
| Position | Full-Sun | ||
| Foliage | Semi-Evergreen | ||
| Height in Maturity (m) | 0.50 | ||
| Spread in Maturity (m) | 0.30 | ||
| Soil Conditions | Chalk Clay Loam | ||
| Soil Acidity | Acid Neutral | ||
| Aspect | East-facing, South-facing, West-facing | ||
| Drought Tolerant | Yes | ||
| Good for pots | Yes | ||
| Good for wildlife | Yes | ||
| Good for pollinators | Yes | ||
| Good for cutting | Yes |
