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Tall Garden Phlox Phlox paniculata “The Queen of the Summer Garden” "This plant is a native, and with true American perspicacity and enterprise has forged his way from magenta obscurity to the most prominent place in the floral world." 'My Garden' by Louise Beebe Wilder, 1916

Why Phlox?
Phlox is not only Rachel’s favorite perennial, it has been a favorite in American gardens all over the country for well over 100 years. It's not hard to see why. They are long-blooming and long-lived, easy of culture, come in a range of heights from two to five ft, often fragrant, never need staking and above all produce huge billows of bloom in mid-late summer, in a range of colors from pure white to red, with nearly every shade of pink, lavender, salmon and purple in between. Properly planted and sited, they are largely pest and disease free - the perfect perennial!

Bright Eyes

110 Cultivars and Climbing!
Since starting the nursery in 1980 we have been collecting as many cultivars as we can, focusing on the heirloom types, and currently have some 110 varieties. We have gathered them from local nurseries, New England gardens, mail-order sources, and even gone to Europe to acquire some of the more elusive heirlooms. Some of our most popular phlox have been discovered in local country gardens, the plants having been kept going for decades by dedicated gardeners. We continue to actively search out the old varieties, and would be delighted to receive any leads from our readers.


Phlox Fest
Saturday, August 2-Sunday, August 10, 2008
For the real phlox fanciers among you, we hold a Phlox Festival every year here at the nursery, always the first week in August. This is the week when the majority of our 110 phlox are blooming, and so is a wonderful opportunity to see dozens of cultivars in bloom, and to see firsthand the differences in color, shape, height and fragrance, which are so difficult to describe in a catalog. It’s a pretty nice show of color, and we think you’ll be happy to discover how much action there can be in a late summer garden, especially when phlox are combined with heleniums, asters, burnets and coneflowers.

During the Fest, Rachel will be leading garden tours every morning at 11:00 (except Monday). There will be a phlox cut flower display, plant specials and door prizes, including a chance to ‘win’ Rachel for a garden consultation. We hope to see you here!


History of Phlox
Historically, phlox was perhaps the most prominent plant in perennial gardens from the turn of the century through the 1940s. As some have put it, "Phlox Ruled"! Although native to North America, it was the Europeans who first recognized the potential in our simple magenta or white phloxes, and who experimented with breeding, reimporting the improved types back to the US. American hybridists made serious contributions as well, and references have been found for over 800 named varieties! In the 1940s there were still over 220 named varieties available, although most of these have now sadly gone missing. Phlox suffered a downturn in popularity from the 1940s to the 1980s, when perennial gardening in general came to be regarded as old-fashioned and rather quaint, and this is when these old cultivars were lost. In recent years, however, there has been growing interest, and many new cultivars are being developed.

Red Ridding Hood

Phlox Culture
Phlox prosper in a cool sunny climate, well watered, in rich sweet soil. In much of the country, they will thrive in full sun, although partial shade is fine, as long as the plants receive at least 6 hours of direct sun. In the southern or hot climes, partial shade is recommended.

The soil should be rich and slightly sweet (alkaline), so if your soil tends towards the acidic side, regular applications of lime is recommended, say every two or three years. The plants should be set in quite rich soil, enriched with compost or aged manure. This type of soil will also hold water well, an important feature, for phlox do not do well in hot dry soils. Mulching will assist in water conservation and in keeping the soil cool. Because they are heavy feeders, even beautifully prepared soil will decline after four or five years, and it is best to plan on resetting your plants on a regular basis, every four or five years. The plants should be lifted out (in fall or early spring), divided into several chunks, replanting only one of those chunks in the old spot. What to do with the remainder? Either expand the phlox border, or give them to a neighbor.


What are the problems? Let’s talk Powdery Mildew.
Many people find their plants are troubled with powdery mildew, a white film that bespeckles or coats the leaves. Although it is never fatal, it can be unsightly, and may lessen the flowering and lead to leaf drop. Mildew tends to be a greater problem in regions with high humidity, but will also affect phlox which are planted in dry soils. What can you do? Well, to take a passive approach, it is perfectly acceptable to plant other plants in front to hide the unsightly foliage. Mildew from phlox will not spread to other species. Choose varieties that are less susceptible, of which there are quite a few, particularly the older ones. Plants can be sprayed with light horticultural oil, which treatment lasts for about two weeks, and prevents growth and spread of the fungus (We use this on our potted plants).

But the real solution appears to be keeping your phlox happy. What makes them happy? Plant them in cool rich sweet soils, water adequately, and divide regularly. As always, healthy soil leads to healthy plants. Keeping a phlox exposed in hot dry soil, with no surrounding vegetation or mulch, guarantees mildew, and spider mites too. In warmer climates, they should be planted in partial shade. They also benefit hugely from regular division and replanting, into rich soil, and if you do this every four or five years, you will have gorgeous plants! This, in Rachel’s experience, far more important than the usual advice about thinning stalks and avoiding nighttime watering. We never bother to thin the stalks to increase air circulation, nor

Little Boy

do we make any effort to avoid evening watering – after all, the dew falls every night. Water then whenever the soil gets dry.

The only other common pest that might be seen are spider mites, who congregate on the underside of leaves, causing leaves to curl, dry up and fall off. This appears to be a problem only if the soil is too hot and dry, and so again it is remedied by improving the soil and increasing the watering.


Propagation
Phlox are very easy to increase by simple division, in late summer or early spring. Cuttings can also be taken in early midsummer. While phlox start easily from seed, and indeed often self-sow into the garden, it is rare for the seedlings to have the same coloring and habit as their parent.