At first glance, an unprepossessing, slow styloid phlox will actually help to decorate in an original way any area and flower bed in the garden. Even greater pluses of phlox are its unpretentiousness and endurance to drought and other weather disasters. But this flower still has one condition - a lot of sun, so it is worth choosing the appropriate place.

Description

Most often phlox subulata is used to obtain a beautiful dense creeping carpet. The name "phlox" is translated as "flame", this is confirmed by the appearance of the inflorescences. On the powerful stems that creep along the ground, there are many beautiful flowers in the form of stars.

The plant is native to North America, where phlox is called creeping carnation. It is here that the first descriptions of the plant are found. The main habitat is the United States, where subulate phlox is distributed in most areas from Ontario to North Carolina and from Tennessee to Michigan.

Phlox subulate

The height of the culture does not exceed 17-20 cm, the stems are represented by an intertwined creeping rug. They have many nodes, which are covered with small sharp rigid leaves, the length of which is no more than 2-3 cm. Most often, the flowers are collected in small inflorescences of 5-7 pcs., Sometimes they are located alone. The diameter of the flowers does not exceed 2.5 cm. The color can be absolutely any. Phlox subulate blooms twice a season. Abundant flowering is observed in May-June, repeated flowering is not so abundant and occurs at the end of August and the beginning of September.

Types and varieties of phlox

Subulate phlox (planting and care in the open field)

The first garden varieties of phlox subulate appeared in England. Today, exactly those types of phlox are no longer there, the results of the work of breeders are presented to the attention of gardeners: hybrids and mutants.

Breeders breed a huge number of phlox varieties. All of them can be classified into color groups. Most often, phloxes can be found in gardens when decorating landscapes:

  • White;
  • Pink;
  • Blue;
  • Purple;
  • Purple.

Sometimes found in landscape design and more exotic and interesting colors.

The most famous varieties that belong to the group of subulate perennial phlox are:

  1. Phlox subulate Scarlet Flame Is a beautiful fiery red perennial plant with a slightly darker core.
  2. Phlox Candy Stripes. A short plant, up to 10 cm, covered with white flowers, about 2 cm in diameter. A feature of each Candy Stripe flower is a light pink stripe on a snow-white background.
  3. Mayshnee variety very popular with modern gardeners. It is a very beautiful evergreen plant with snow-white, wheel-shaped flowers that abundantly cover the stems from May to June.
  4. Variety Atropurpurea differs in beautiful purple-red star-shaped inflorescences.
  5. Phlox Themiskaming another beautiful representative of this plant, whose height does not exceed 15 cm, the flowers are painted in a dark raspberry-purple color.
  6. Phlox subulate Bavaria - a plant with snow-white flowers and a blue core, which are small in size - only 1.8 cm.
  7. Red Wings variety - red flowers with a purple core, which are located on the stems, no more than 10 cm high.
  8. Phlox subulate Purple Beauty (purple beauty) is characterized by beautiful purple-violet flowers with a purple eye. Plant height reaches only 15 cm.
  9. Emerald Cash Blue variety Is a perennial blue subulate phlox with a small blue ring in the middle. Plant height - no more than 15 cm.
  10. Phlox subulate Emerald Pink - these bright pink flowers are located on small creeping stems, the height of which does not exceed 8-12 cm.

In addition to these varieties, varieties of blue phlox awl-shaped (Emerald Blue, Wilson, Benita), pink (Milstream Daphna) or white (White Delight, Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace, Kimono) have become very popular.

Mayshnee variety

Interesting fact. For many years, breeders have sought to obtain a variety of phlox varieties. Today there are many colors, but it has not been possible to get flowers with a yellow color in so many years.

Agrotechnics

Landing requirements

Unlike other species of such a plant, styloid phlox will grow perfectly only in well-lit areas. It can also be located in partial shade, but the flowering will not be as active and abundant.

Phlox Drummond

There are no great requirements for the soil, phlox grows well on any species. Most of all he loves sandy soil, which is well fertilized with humus and substrate.

Important! An attractive and important feature of this plant is that it tolerates short dry periods well. This does not in any way affect the abundance of flowering, stagnant moisture in the soil can destroy the flowers.

The soil should be chosen with a neutral pH level or slightly acidified. The plant tolerates cold winters well, but in frosty snowless periods it is better to additionally cover the plant.

Landing features

Planting phlox should be done in early spring, when the earth is already warming up under the spring sun. Before direct planting, the soil is dug up, weeds are removed, and then fairly fertilized with humus or overripe compost.

Landing

The subulate phlox is distinguished by a superficial root system, which means that the seedlings should not be deeply buried in the ground. The distance between the flowers is approximately 25 cm.

Care

The culture belongs to unpretentious undemanding plants, so primitive agricultural procedures will be enough, to ensure abundant flowering and a healthy appearance:

  1. Regular loosening of the soil with careful removal of weeds.
  2. Watering depends on weather conditions and soil conditions at a particular moment. Most often, this is rare moderate watering during drier periods.
  3. In order for flowering to be abundant, it is necessary to constantly remove faded inflorescences.

Important! Watering is carried out only with warm water, since the use of cold liquid can lead to rotting and cracking of the stems.

Despite the fact that the flower tolerates frost well, it is recommended to additionally cover it from severe frosts. If a snowy winter is predicted, it is not necessary to cover the phlox.

Phlox care

Fertilization

During the period of active growth (early spring, when flowering has not yet been observed), the plant needs fertilization, in which nitrogen and potassium prevail. During the flowering period, it is recommended to use a complex mineral composition.

For phlox, it is important not to overdo it with nitrogen compounds, the results of its excess will be weak flowering or its complete absence.

Important! The introduction of humus will help to enhance flowering, which also has a stimulating effect on the growth of the culture itself.

Reproduction

The subulate phlox can be propagated in three ways with equal success:

  • apical cuttings;
  • division of the root system;
  • seeds.

The division of the root system is best done after the phlox has faded and until late autumn. The final plant is dug out so that the root system and the ground part remain. Then the parent plant is divided into several parts.

Reproduction of phlox

On a note. Reproduction by dividing the roots should not be carried out every year. A similar method is used for adult plants once every 2 years.

At the end of summer, you can use the apical cuttings method.

Remote shoots are used. Initially, they need to be rooted in pots that remain at home for the winter; in the spring, the cuttings are planted in a permanent place in the open field.

The seed propagation method is used much less often. In this case, the seeds are sown in February in separate containers, after warming, when 2 true leaves appear on the plant, phlox seedlings can be transferred to a permanent place of germination. Phloxes will germinate only in constantly moist soil.

Diseases and pests

When growing subulate phlox, you can encounter problems in the form of diseases and pests. The most common diseases are powdery mildew and variegation. Powdery mildew is characterized by the appearance of gray-white spots on the green parts of the crop, variegation will manifest itself with ugly patterns on the foliage. The affected areas should be removed. As a prophylaxis for such diseases, you can carry out spring treatment with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Bordeaux mix

Pests such as filamentous worm and nematode can most often affect phlox plantings. By their appearance, they will provoke the fragility of the stems. Affected plants should be removed completely with further destruction. The area of ​​the soil where the flowers grew is treated with special nematicides.

Phlox in landscape design

Phlox Natasha

This plant has become widespread among designers who, when creating compositions, strive to achieve complete harmony and beauty. Very often phlox are planted as border flowers, they organize beautiful carpets. Due to the peculiarity of the structure, phlox stems occupy all the space allocated to it.

On a note. Before winter begins, phlox does not look very pretty. True, if you provide him with decent care, then the plant will quickly acquire its former velvety.

Phlox is also often used as a decoration for garden paths. With the right planting pattern, beautiful miniature curbs can be arranged. The use of subulate phlox in rockeries, rock gardens, mixborders is widespread.

Phlox in landscape design

Flowers look great in the foregrounds of flower beds, as well as decorative rugs for tall plants while they grow and gain strength. Phlox looks very beautiful in combination with catnip, sage, anaphalis, cuff, decorative cereals and onions. You can often find it in containers, pots, decorating verandas, porches.

When creating compositions in a landscape of various flowers, subulate phlox will perfectly combine with such flower crops as:

  • asters;
  • primrose;
  • poppies;
  • tulips;
  • daffodils;
  • irises of low growth;
  • Snapdragon;
  • many others also rejuvenated.

In principle, subulate phlox is versatile in use. It will look great with evergreen objects that are used to create design compositions, for example, with spruce, fir, thuja, and juniper. It can also be combined with other ground-covering crops: alissum, stonecrop, thyme.

As you can see, phlox is a fairly unpretentious plant that can easily help decorate any area. With the right selection of varieties, you can create unique compositions. Simple care rules will help novice growers decorate a flower bed and not worry that they will not be able to cope with the cultivation.