Year of the Phlox

​Popular with pollinators, Phlox is a wide-ranging North American native perennial and a common fixture in woodland, prairie, and meadow landscapes from Florida and Quebec to Alaska. Phlox is a genus with a multitude of species, heights, bloom times, and garden applications.  A tubular flower with five petals is common with colors between white, pink, magenta, purple, and blue across the genus, as well as some species showing notable orange or red coloration. Through all of the diversity, Phlox can be loosely grouped into two types: spring bloomers and summer bloomers.

Spring Bloomers Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox, Moss Pinks) and other early-spring blooming species are low-growing, ground-hugging plants. Typically native to rocky, well-drained environments, when put in a garden without restriction, they become carpets of color, tending to spread as ground covers.

Summer Bloomers Most first think of Tall Garden Phlox, a clump-forming perennial that blooms in midsummer and is among the tallest of this species with perfectly formed large, rounded flower panicles that top each stem. Newer summer-blooming varieties tend to bloom a bit earlier, rebloom after the first flowers when trimmed back, have a more mounded shape and a stoloniferous habit.

Gardening Tips:

• Phlox do well in full sun and a sandy loam soil that has good drainage
• With watering, Tall Garden types thrive with consistent water, which also helps to prolong flowering and encourage rebloom. Once settled in, Creeping varieties have low water requirements, only needing supplemental water when the days are at their hottest and longest.
• To decrease the likelihood of powdery mildew, keep plants well-spaced for adequate airflow and water with a hose at the base of the plant or with drip irrigation to avoid wet foliage. Mildew manifests as a white fuzz on the surface of the leaf that is both unsightly and will negatively affect its long-term health.
• Summer blooming plants can be encouraged to rebloom with consistent watering, adequate nutrients/fertilization, and deadheading, which also curtails self-seeding. 
• Fall is the best time to divide and replant Phlox, every 3-5 years to reinvigorate the plant and improve garden performance.

Some species of Creeping Phlox are evergreen. On these plants, winter dieback should be cleaned up in spring or early summer after they have finished blooming.
 
Credit to https://ngb.org/year-of-the-phlox/
 
 Contributed by:  Vicki Gee-Treft