Now don’t be confused by the name. Stokesia Peachie’s Pick does not have flowers in some shade of peach or apricot, but instead the open slightly tousled à la cornflower blooms, held on sturdy compact stems, are a lovely lavender blue and will do their thing over a remarkably long period, sometimes even in winter (it’s an evergreen). See below for what the Peachie bit is all about. Sun or semi-shade. Any reasonable soil. 12 to 18 in. 2 litre pot.


Peachie’s Pick is a compact form of Stokesia and is a great improvement over the species, not just for its habit which makes it more reliably upright, but also for the length of the flowering season, which can be measured in months rather than weeks. As promised above, we shall reveal the origin of the name Peachie’s Pick. Nothing to do with colour, but rather it refers to the lady who was responsible for discovering it as a sport in her garden, Peachie Saxton. Other than the fact that she is across the internet universally referred to as a plantswoman from MIssissippi, we can’t tell you any more than that. But the plant she gave her name to is a little stunner. We have wanted to grow it for years, and now we are at last doing so. Which makes us very happy.

There is in fact only one species in the Stokesia genus, and that is S. Laevis, which is a native of North America where it grows in conifer woods on moist acid soil (we grow it neutral and it doesn’t seem to mind that). While it’s happy in moist soil, Stokesia won’t like being in very wet soil in winter, so make sure the drainage will be ok when you plant it. The genus is named in honour of Jonathan Stokes, an English doctor and botanist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries: medecine and botany have always gone hand in hand, of course.

Plant care is minimal other than deadheading old blooms and doing a bit of tidying up in the early spring. We find cutting it back to promote fresh new growth works well.

The video below features Stokesia Mel’s Blue but will neverthless give you a pretty good idea of what Peachie’s PIck will look like.

Stokesia Laevis Peachie's Pick is an evergreen perennial with large lavender blue flowers over a long period in summer suitable for sun or semi-shade.


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