Phlox

By: John Degroot

July 24 2010

Phlox - Garden Clippings for July 24, 2010

                They are the stuff that Grandma’s garden was made of.

                Generations ago Phlox were the staple of perennial gardens.  Garden Phlox were easy to grow, easy to plant, and easy to divide and share with other grandmothers.  By the middle of the century Phlox were so plentiful that they fell out of favour simply because they weren’t modern.  They landed the same fate as the white picket fence.

                Fast forward a few decades and interest in perennials began to mushroom.   Horticulturalists took a renewed interest in old fashioned varieties and ‘David’ was born.

                Phlox paniculata ‘David’ is a stunning perennial phlox with pure white flowers of exceptional large size and lovely fragrance.   The plant is more disease resistant than its foreparents and flowers are longer lasting.  ‘David’ had all the attributes of a great perennial that it managed to achieve the coveted status of Perennial Plant of the Year in 2002.

                The popularity and success of ‘David’ encouraged plant breeders everywhere to arrive at new Phlox varieties.    ‘David’s Lavender’ has deep lavender pink blooms with equally impressive long lasting blooms.  Both reach heights of about 3 feet, making them suitable for the back of a mixed perennial border.

                ‘Junior Dance’ fills the need for a shorter Phlox.  Flowers are pure white, reaching 18 inches high.  As ‘Junior Dance’ grows through summer, it produces new lateral branches that bear new white blooms.  New blooms appear all summer long.

                Phlox paniculata ‘Jade’ produces white flowers with fine green edging on each petal.  The plant grows to 18 to 20 inches high.  ‘Jade’ is a good choice for gardeners who like cut flowers.

                Bloom colour for Phlox range from white to pink to red and all shades in between.  One of the best red varieties is ‘Red Caribbean’ with long lasting bright red blooms reaching 30 inches high.

                For best performance, plant Phlox in full sun.  They are somewhat shade tolerant, but will produce fewer flowers as shade deepens.  Phlox are very draught tolerant.

                One of the challenges with Phlox is powdery mildew which is a fungus that forms grayish white spots on the leaves.  Powdery mildew does not kill the plant, but causes the plant to look unsightly and may cause leaves to drop.

                Newer varieties of Phlox claim to be resistant to powdery mildew, but yet the problem often persists especially when the climate is humid and there is little air movement.  I have two large clusters of Phlox in my backyard garden, and mildew has never appeared, probably because I have a lot of wind in my rural backyard.

                  Garden Phlox is tough as nails.  The hardest winter frost will not damage Phlox.  My Phlox are not planted in particularly good soil, and they rarely receive fertilizer or extra water during dry summer months.  Yet they perform wonderfully.

                Few perennials give me as much satisfaction as my garden Phlox.  And while I am working in the middle of the day, butterflies and hummingbirds keep lots of company with my Phlox.