Stokesia 'Mel's Blue' (Stokes' Aster) – Hardy Perennial (3L Pot)

Stokes' aster carries broad, fringed, cornflower like heads in soft lavender blue over a tidy rosette of glossy green leaves.

'Mel's Blue' is naturally compact, making a clump around 30 to 40cm each way, so it holds its shape at the front of a border or in a patio pot without any staking. The flowers open from early summer and keep coming if you deadhead them, and they last well in a vase. The leathery rosette stays put through the winter, which is unusual in a summer flowering perennial.

Plant it in full sun or light shade in fertile, free draining soil. Drainage matters more than shelter here: it takes a hard winter well but rots in ground that stays wet. Once it is properly established it copes with dry spells. The open flowers are easy for bees and butterflies to work.

Tidy the old foliage in spring rather than autumn, so the rosette protects the crown over winter. Supplied as an established plant in a 3 litre pot, grown peat free and ready to plant out.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Stokes' aster
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 30 to 40cm tall, 30 to 40cm wide
• Growth Habit: Compact, clump forming
• Perfect For: Front of a sunny border, patio containers, path edges, cutting
• Foliage: Glossy green, lance shaped, held through winter
• Flowering Time: Early to mid summer, longer if deadheaded
• Planting Position: Full sun or light partial shade. Suits a container and tolerates dry soil once established
• Soil Type: Fertile and free draining. Never waterlogged
• Hardiness: Hardy in most of Britain through a hard winter, provided the soil drains
• Maintenance: Low. Deadhead through the season and tidy old foliage in spring
• Seasonal Interest: Summer
• Type: Hardy herbaceous perennial

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