• Photo of Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' (Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone's)

Plant Profile: Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone'

Names

Cornflower Aster, Stokes Aster, Stokesia Bluestone

  • Photo of Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' (Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone's)

Phonetic Spelling:sto-KEES-ee-uh LEE-viss

Genus:Stokesia

Species:laevis

Family:Asteraceae

This cultivar blooms in shades of bluish-purple during mid-summer, exuding a subtle fragrance that attracts bees, butterflies, and birds. Notably, it is a dwarf variety compared to other cultivars within the species, reaching a height of only 10 to 12 inches. This plant is advantageous as it serves as a nectar source for pollinators and is resilient to drought conditions. It can be propagated through seeds or by dividing the root ball, although it does not self-seed in gardens. For optimal display, consider planting it in small clusters or massing it at the front of a border, within a cottage garden, or alongside riparian areas.

For further details on Stokesia laevis, please refer to additional resources.

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Feature Summary

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Image Gallery

Tags

#purple
#fragrant
#full sun tolerant
#water garden
#fragrant flowers
#small spaces
#blue
#drought tolerant
#fall flowers
#violet
#purple flowers
#blue flowers
#low maintenance
#riparian
#cottage garden
#mass planting
#violet flowers
#summer flowers
#border front
#nectar plant fall
#nectar plant summer
#xeriscaping
#small group plantings
#bird friendly
#butterfly friendly
#partial shade tolerant
#bee friendly
#stormwater demo garden orange co

Similar Plants

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Feature Summary

Attributes
Attracts butterflies, bees, and birds
Perennial
Wildlife Food Source
Attracts Pollinators
Attractive Flowers
Flowers
Tiny cornflower blue to violet notched ray flowers clustered in a flower head 2"-4" across with feathery disk florets in the center. Blooms in the middle of summer through fall if you deadhead the flowers before they set seed.
Purple/Lavender
Blue
Fragrant
Showy
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
fused petals
more than 20 petals/rays
1-3 inches
Leaves
Basal rosette of lanceolate to elliptic 6" long leaves. Stem leaves have no petiole and are smaller than basal leaves.
Alternate
Rosulate
Elliptical
Lanceolate
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
Whole Plant Traits
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Acid (<6.0)
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasionally Wet
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
5b
5a
6a
6b
7a
7b
8b
8a
9a
9b
10a
10b
Landscape
Drought Tolerant Garden
Butterfly Garden
Pollinator Garden
Winter Garden
Cottage Garden
Water Garden
Border
Mass Planting
Small groups
Drought
Deer
Rabbits
Small Space
Riparian
Pond
Butterflies
Pollinators
Songbirds
Bees

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Attributes

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Wildlife Value

Attracts butterflies, bees, and birds

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems)

drought tolerant

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Life Cycle

Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Recommended Propagation Strategy

Division
Grafting
Layering
Leaf Cutting
Root Cutting
Seed
Stem Cutting

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Play Value

Attractive Flowers
Attracts Pollinators
Buffer
Colorful
Defines Paths
Easy to Grow
Edible fruit
Fragrance
Pieces Used in Games
Screening
Shade
Sound
Textural
Wildlife Cover/Habitat
Wildlife Food Source
Wildlife Larval Host
Wildlife Nesting
Wind Break
Wind Shimmer

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Flowers

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Description

Tiny cornflower blue to violet notched ray flowers clustered in a flower head 2"-4" across with feathery disk florets in the center. Blooms in the middle of summer through fall if you deadhead the flowers before they set seed.

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Color

filter_vintage
Blue
filter_vintage
Purple/Lavender

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Inflorescence

Catkin
Corymb
Cyme
Head
Insignificant
Panicle
Raceme
Solitary
Spadix
Spike
Umbel

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Value To Gardener

Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Bloom Time

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Petals

2-3 rays/petals
4-5 petals/rays
6 petals/rays
7 - 20 petals/rays
asymmetrical petals
Bracts
Colored Sepals
fused petals
more than 20 petals/rays
Tepals

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Shape

Bell
Cross
Crown
Cup
Dome
Funnel
Irregular
Lipped
Radial
Saucer
Star
Trumpet
Tubular
Urn
Wheel

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Flower Size

1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Leaves

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Description

Basal rosette of lanceolate to elliptic 6" long leaves. Stem leaves have no petiole and are smaller than basal leaves.

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Color

spa
Green

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Type

Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Arrangement

Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Shape

Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Margin

Crenate
Crenulate
Dentate
Denticulate
Doubly Crenate
Doubly Dentate
Doubly Serrate
Entire
Lobed
Serrate
Sinuate
Undulate

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Hairs Present

No
Yes

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Length

< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Leaf Width

< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Stem

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Stem Description

Erect, leafy stems

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Stem Color

grass
Green

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Stem Is Aromatic

No
Yes

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Whole Plant Traits

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Plant Type

Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Habit/Form

Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Growth Rate

Slow
Medium
Rapid

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Maintenance

Low
Medium
High

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Cultural Conditions

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Light

Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Soil pH

Acid (<6.0)
Alkaline (>8.0)
Neutral (6.0-8.0)

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Soil Drainage

Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Available Space To Plant

12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': NC Region

Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

thermostat
10a
thermostat
10b
thermostat
5a
thermostat
5b
thermostat
6a
thermostat
6b
thermostat
7a
thermostat
7b
thermostat
8a
thermostat
8b
thermostat
9a
thermostat
9b

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone' Landscape

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Landscape Theme

Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Design Feature

Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Resistance To Challenges

Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Landscape Location

Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland

Stokesia laevis 'Bluestone': Attracts

Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees