Stokes’ Aster a/k/a Stokesia

Stokes’ aster (Stokesia laevis) is a showy, native perennial wildflower for full to part sun. It blooms (blue/lavender) from late spring to mid-summer, is evergreen and grows to approximately 12 inches in height. It’s a good choice when you need a small patch of color at the front of a perennial border. Although stokesia likes plenty of moisture, you should plant it in well-drained, acidic soil. Wet soil in the winter is the main cause of death for this plant, so well-drained soil is a must. Choose a spot in the sun. Stokesia does well in partial sun, but if you’re looking for the best possible show of color, plant it in full sun. Keep in mind however that if you do so, it will need more water. You will have to pay special attention to its water needs until it’s well established. Deadheading and removing spent flower stems will also help maximize blossoming. Propagate stokesia by dividing root clumps in late winter or spring.

There are lots of good reasons for making space in your garden for stokesia. It’s a good source of nectar for butterflies, has no serious insect or disease problems and, although it likes plenty of moisture, it’s surprisingly drought tolerant once it’s established. Oh yeah . . . and it’s beautiful too.

At Native Nurseries, we typically stock Stokesia in quarts and 1-gallon pots. Currently we have both. As always, give us a call to check availability before making a special trip (although we’re always happy to see you). Sorry . . . we do not ship plants.

Some information for this blog post came from the following sources –

http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/Horticulture/plantsaleiplamts/stokesia.html

http://www.floridata.com/ref/s/stok_lae.cfm

Post Date: 5/15/15

Herbs in the Landscape – Beautiful and Convenient

I like to use fresh, organically grown herbs when I cook. It’s easy to do because I can just step out to my garden and clip whatever I need – spearmint for one recipe, rosemary, garlic chives or Greek oregano for another. Some of my other reliable perennial herbs such as pineapple sage, lemon grass, Mexican tarragon and lemon verbena are usually dormant in early spring but reliably sprout back as the weather warms and are beginning to make an appearance now. Basil is a warm weather annual that must be re-planted in April.

All of the herbs mentioned above are very easy to grow; not one is finicky as long as it is planted in the right place. You do not need a special herb garden in order to grow herbs. You can place them in the existing landscape or grow them in containers. I planted a bay laurel as part of our foundation planting at the front of our house. The rest of our herbs are mixed in with butterfly, hummingbird and bee plants in a garden in the sun.

Most herbs such as rosemary, creeping thyme and Greek oregano need at least six hours of sun each day and well-drained soil. If you are starting a new garden by preparing a bed, mix in a generous amount of mushroom compost or your own compost to condition the soil before planting. If your soil is mostly hard-packed clay, you may want to consider planting in large containers or in a raised bed filled with a good topsoil/compost mixture.

Some herbs, like lemon balm, spearmint and others in the mint family can handle more shade. Most mints spread aggressively. For this reason, I confine my spearmint to an antique black kettle on our front steps. The kettle has a crack in it, which provides necessary drainage.

Herbs are among the prettiest plants in our yard. Prostrate rosemary cascades over the edge of our limestone rock wall and is in bloom just about year round. Bumblebees are regular visitors to the small blue flowers. The showy red blossoms of pineapple sage attract hummingbirds and butterflies each autumn, and bronze fennel and parsley are hosts to the caterpillar that will become the graceful black swallowtail butterfly.

Herbs are easy to grow, fragrant, attractive to wildlife and useful in cooking. They are also quite pretty in cut flower and foliage arrangements. Choose one or two herbs and get started today – you’ll be glad you did.

Post Date: 4/2/15

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Return

Every spring I look forward to the return of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird from its usual winter range in Central America and Mexico. Many congregate on the Yucatan Peninsula, using it as the jumping off point for a 500 mile, eighteen hour, non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Hoping to ride a tailwind, some instead meet adverse winds and use up their small energy supply of stored fat before they reach our coast and fall into the Gulf. For those that make it, it is an amazing feat of endurance and navigation. The first arrivals in our area show up around March 15th.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds breed in the eastern United States from the Gulf coast of Texas, almost due north through Minnesota, into southern Canada and eastward from Lake Okeechobee to Nova Scotia. Many of the hummingbirds you see in your yard are passing through on their way to their breeding grounds farther north. Some will stop in north Florida to find mates and raise young. After mating, the female goes to her preferred nesting habitat, often near a woodland stream, river or swamp. She builds the nest and raises the two babies with no help from the male.

After hatching, the young stay in the nest about three weeks. Mom feeds them by ramming a regurgitated mixture of insects down their throats. For this reason, native trees and shrubs are very important to the survival of hummers. These plants are preferred by native insects that hummers consume by the thousands. Insects provide all the protein, vitamins, minerals and fats hummers need for a balanced diet and are critical for feeding the baby hummingbirds. These insects are found almost exclusively on American native plants. Ornamental plants from other parts of the world, such as camellias, loropetalum, azaleas, ligustrum, crape myrtle or Chinese elm are mostly useless for providing hummingbirds with insects.

The best way to attract hummers is to plant a wide variety of nectar producing plants. Try to use natives like red buckeye, wild azaleas, coral honeysuckle, firebush, columbine, red swamp mallow and silverbell. Non-natives like pentas, perennial salvias, shrimp plant and cardinal guard are good choices also.

Feeders are another way to attract hummingbirds. Use only white sugar. Mix with water at a ratio of four parts water to one part sugar, or one cup of water to ¼ cup sugar. Commercial nectar mixtures containing added vitamin, protein or flavors are not recommended. Red food coloring is not necessary and may be harmful. Never use honey since it carries a fungus that is fatal to hummers.

By mid-July, northern hummers are already migrating south, mostly males at first. From April through September, the bird visiting your feeder, the bird you call ‘your hummer’, is probably a different bird every day. Fred Dietrich, a certified hummingbird bander, caught seventy-two birds in his yard during this period. Only three of them were recaptures. The latest you’ll see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in your yard is around mid-October. They have probably doubled their weight for fuel to make the dangerous Gulf crossing.

We never fail to be amazed by these feisty little animals. Imagine the spunk, courage and drive it would take for us to leave dry land and fly five hundred miles non-stop over water without a GPS, a phone to call for help or any food and water. Amazing!