By the time late July and August roll around in Pittsburgh, many spring-blooming perennials have completely packed it in for the year. The hot, humid Western PA afternoons can leave the garden looking a bit tired and washed out. If you are looking to bridge that late-summer color gap with something truly spectacular, it is time to try Stokesia laevis—commonly known as Stokes’ Aster.  It's the ultimate native perennial for injecting jaw-dropping, vibrant color exactly when your landscape needs it most.

While there are a few cultivars out there, one undisputed superstar stands out on our nursery tables here at Cavacini Garden Center in Lawrenceville: ‘Peachie’s Pick’. Do not let the name fool you—there is nothing peach-colored about this plant. It delivers a punchy, unapologetically vivid purple bloom that will instantly become the focal point of your summer garden. 

Meet ‘Peachie’s Pick’: Physical Characteristics
Discovered by a legendary plantswoman in Mississippi, ‘Peachie’s Pick’ was selected because it completely fixes the flopping issues common to older, wilder varieties of Stokes’ Aster. It is a tightly behaved, exceptionally tidy perennial. 

Planting and Growing Practices
Stokes’ Aster is a tough-as-nails native cultivar that requires very little fussing once you establish its root system. To get those massive, vibrant flower displays, just keep a few basic rules in mind:

Easy Maintenance and Continuous Color
For mid-level gardeners, maintenance on this plant is incredibly rewarding and straightforward. Because it produces so many individual flower stalks, deadheading is your best friend. As the older, central purple flowers begin to fade and turn brown, simply follow the stem down with a clean pair of pruners and snip it off. This simple chore redirects the plant's energy away from making seeds and channels it into opening up the dozens of secondary buds waiting right below. 

In late autumn, you can leave the foliage alone to provide a little extra winter protection for the crown, then simply clear away any dead, tattered leaves in the early spring before the fresh green rosettes begin to emerge. A light application of standard garden fertilizer in spring is all it takes to fuel the summer show. 

A Symphony of Summer Purples: Exploring Other Varieties
While ‘Peachie’s Pick’ is a certified favorite for its compact habit and heavy flower count, the Stokes’ Aster family has plenty of other incredible flavors to offer. If you are looking to layer your garden with different heights, textures, and subtle shifts in hue, you do not have to stop at just one variety.

Right now, we are also highlighting ‘Honeysong Purple’. If ‘Peachie’s Pick’ is an upright, electric royal purple, ‘Honeysong Purple’ leans into a deeply dramatic, rich amethyst-violet with a striking pinkish-white starburst center. It grows slightly taller and broader, offering a looser, more traditional wildflower texture that sways beautifully in the breeze. We also frequently track down variants that lean into icy blues, soft lavenders, and even crisp whites. Mixing these cultivars together creates a stunning, multi-dimensional tapestry of color, giving your garden a sophisticated, designer look while keeping all the rugged, low-maintenance benefits of a true native plant.

The best part? All of these varieties are blooming right now. You do not have to guess what they will look like or wait until next year to see their true colors—you can pick out the exact shade that matches your yard today.  Come and visit us at Cavacini Garden Center, located right off 51st Street, in Lawrenceville.