| I have several blue stokesia plants in different flower beds. They all start off the season fine, bloom, and then the remaining blooms rarely open for the rest of the season. I spray, but doesn't seem to help, even though they don't look eaten. |
| Stokesia put on the best repeat blooming performance when they are grown in rich soil that is moist yet well drained and in a sunny location. As the flowers fade, you should then remove them promptly so that the plant devotes its energy to producing new flowers rather than to producing seeds. If you look closely, I suspect you may find that the later "buds" you have been seeing are actually spent blooms forming seeds! In my experience, even under the best conditions it is unlikely that your plants will bloom continuously all summer no matter what you do -- several repeated flushes of blooms are the normal result. Good luck with your stokesia this summer! |
