Garden Phlox (Perennial Phlox)
Phlox paniculata. POLEMONIACEAE.
Planting and Growing Garden Phlox
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow garden phlox in the accompanying table’s tabs:
-
- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of garden phlox
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for garden phlox
- Season of bloom and planting time for garden phlox
- When, how deep, and where to plant garden phlox
- How to plant garden phlox
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of garden phlox
- Landscape and container uses of garden phlox
- Comments about garden phlox and its features
Growing Garden Phlox
Several cultivars of erect, mounding or bunching, deciduous perennial herbs, 2–6 ft. (60–180 cm) tall and wide. Smooth, deep green, narrow, oval to lance-shaped, pointed, veined leaves, 3–6 in. (75–150 mm) long.
See also: Annual Phlox (Phlox drummondii), a closely related annual species with similar care needs.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Profuse lavender, pink, red, white, 5-petaled, fragrant flowers, to 1 in. (25 mm) wide, in round or cone-shaped clusters, 10–14 in. (25–36 cm) wide, in spring–summer.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 3–10.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil or, in water features, shoreline sites. Fertility: Rich. 6.5–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun to partial shade, 18 in. (45 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Moderate. Keep moist. Fertilize monthly. Pinch to promote branched, bushy growth. Mulch. Stake. Propagate by cuttings, division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, borders, containers in cottage, formal, natural, shade gardens or water feature shorelines. Spider mite and powdery mildew, rust susceptible.