The Garden Guy used to drive Mississippi’s Highway 49 from Hattiesburg to Gulfport to fall in love with the native Stokes aster. They aren’t just native to Mississippi but found throughout the South. I have loved them at homes I have owned and in places like the Columbus Botanical Garden when I was director. I promise you will be stoked over a new variety making its debut next year.

Totally Stoked is a new series courtesy of North Carolina State University breeding and Proven Winners' ability to not only recognize what this plant has to offer, but then to get it in production in a major way. All over the country, gardeners, garden clubs and butterfly lovers clamor for native plants and Totally Stoked will quench this thirst in several different ways.

The Garden Guy has been trialing it and it has been nothing short of sheer joy. First know there are two colors, Totally Stoked Whitecaps and Totally Stoked Riptide. Yes, there is a white and the blue that we all long for in the garden. So far, I have had eastern tiger swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails, american lady, gray hairstreak and fiery skippers all partaking of the nectar.

Not too many plants can challenge the intricate structure and beauty of the passion flower, but the Stokes aster will leave the novice and the seasoned gardener alike totally mesmerized, or should we say Totally Stoked? Even The Garden Guy was spellbound looking at the photo I took of the Totally Stoked Whitecaps.

The flowers are also huge, reaching in the 3- to 4-inch range. Now the best part may be that they bring in bees and butterflies like there is no tomorrow and resist being eaten by deer and rabbits.

Totally Stoked Riptide and Whitecaps will form clumps, plants reaching 26 inches in height and up to 36 inches in width. Though they are native to the South, they are cold hardy in zones 5-9. You will provide plenty of sun and fertile, well-drained soil for best performance.

Make your beds well-drained by incorporating 3 to 4 inches of organic matter like fine pine bark, humus or compost. Well-drained soil is pretty much mandatory if you want it to have a long-lived perennial. Wet winter feet can spell doom.

My main area of design has been so much fun in creation. I’ve combined Totally Stoked Riptide with Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry and Queen Nectarine agastache. Then Truffula Pink gomphrena and Meteor Shower verbena were added. But there is more: I also have Luminary Prismatic Pink and Luminary Ultraviolet tall garden phlox.

As I mentioned, their intricate structure can compete with that of the passion flower. For this very reason, I’ve always wanted to create a small tropical setting and this year I did it with extra plants. I used ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus and Hollywood Disco Diva hibiscus, which will also be making its debut in the Proven Winners lineup next year. The lime green, orange and blue were perfect.

Stokes asters sometimes rest in summer to bloom again in the fall. The large clumps that I mentioned earlier are easy to divide in early spring. When growth emerges in the spring, feed with a light application of the fertilizer and again in mid-summer.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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