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A super easy to grow and tough as nails but beautiful and long lived North American native perennial, the Blue Danube Stokes Aster aims to please both you and the butterflies and beneficial pollinators. From mid summer well into fall it produces very large aster-like flowers up to 5 inches across in lavender blue shades. The flowers are excellent for cutting and use in floral arrangements. A vigorous grower forming a dense mound in full to mostly sunny sites, Blue Danube is great garden performer that will bring you many years of enjoyment with almost no maintenance required.

Growing in a mound 12 to 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide or more, Blue Danube Stokes Aster is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces and large mixed container gardens and is truly breathtaking in groupings, mass plantings or as a low border in perennial gardens or along paths and walkways. A fine addition to butterfly gardens, beneficial pollinator gardens, native plant gardens, cut flower gardens, cottage gardens and purple or blue theme gardens.

Suggested Spacing:  15 inches apart for mass plantings; 36 inches apart for space between plants

Blue Danube Stokes Aster is exceptionally easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average to even low fertility in full to mostly sun. We suggest at least 5 hours of direct sun for best flowering. As with many other perennial plants, constantly soggy or wet soils can be problematic. Heavy, dense clay soils should be amended with organic matter to improve drainage. Plant with the top of the root ball even with ground level. Care and maintenance are minimal. Deadheading spent flowers isn't necessary however will encourage reblooming into fall. Feed in spring with an organic plant food. In USDA Zoners 5 and 6 we suggest a layer of mulch for insulation during winter.