Step 1
Garden phlox is a splashy landscape flush with large flower that decorate a flowerbed during the second half of the summertime . Grow garden phlox in a sunny location as a border or a backdrop to shorter flush . Phlox prefers a moist garden soil and needs adequate ventilation around the leafage to keep mildew from produce over the course of action of the growing season . After the foliage dies back in the fall , issue it off near the soil level to winterise .
slay spent flowers of the garden phlox to encourage a longer bloom period .
Step 2
Trim the plant back to take away all old foliage in the fall . This will help prevent mold and decay from penetrating the foliation over the winter time of year . will close to 6 inches of stalks above the soil level for locating the phlox the next bounce .
Step 3
dilute the garden phlox in the spring to allow only four stalks per clump . If you desire a magnanimous area of garden phlox , impart additional plants , space them some 1 foot apart .
How to Divide Phlox
Dig around the perimeter of the phlox plant with the jigaboo or garden fork and carefully sneak it out of the land .
Loosen the dirt around the roots of the flora . Remove any gem and beat stems from the clump .
Slice down through the clump using the spade or sharp tongue and carve up it into three to five unexampled shoots with healthy root organization . Remove the dead or woody central theme of the original plant .
Step 4
engraft the divisions into a prepared flower bed .
Tip
you may take press clipping from phlox roots to uprise new industrial plant . Cut the root word into 1 to 2 inch piece and plant at once into the stain . New flora will take root and grow in the peak bottom .
How to Prune Phlox
rationalize each phlox plant to no more than six stems when the plants attain about 6 column inch tall . This will divert energy to the rest stem , and the phlox will be healthier and produce well blooms .
take out phlox salad days as presently as they fade , either with your fingers or with a good pair of garden shears . The remaining blooms will be larger and brighter . Prune forth the upper set of leave-taking as well , to promote air circulation and forbid disease .
Prune the phlox to the ground in autumn , leaving a few shortsighted prow so you could commend where the phlox is imbed . It may seem drastic , but the phlox will retrovert in all its glory the following leaping .
How to Plant Phlox
imbed your phlox in well - drained dirt . Check the recording label on your plant ; some phlox thrive in full Lord’s Day while others prefer wraith .
Till the territory 12 to 15 inch rich while adding 2 to 4 inches of compost . This will wait on with moisture retention and drainage .
Dig a hole for the plant that is doubly the diameter of the root ball and as deep as the container . Space the hole 1 to 2 foot asunder .
move around the container upside down and tap on the sides and bottom to remove the plant .
Step 5
Place the plant life in the jam , making sure the top of the base globe is at the grime surface . fulfill in around the roots with soil and gently pack it .
Step 6
Sprinkle a starter fertilizer around the base of the plant life and water thoroughly .
Step 7
utilize a 10 - 10 - 10 plant food each month of the produce time of year . body of water the plants immediately after diligence to assist with absorption .
Step 8
gazump the plants deeply once a workweek if rain is less than 1 inch a week .
Step 9
trim old heyday stems as the coloring fades ; this will further new peak . Cut the stem to 2 in after fall ’s killing rime .
Step 10
Divide tall varieties of garden phlox every two to three years in the springiness to ascendency disease associated with dense growth .
Have your garden soil tested to define the correct fertilizer for best outgrowth . Phlox do not care to contend for sun with large shrubs and chaparral . disperse a thin stratum of compost around each works in the give . Spread 2 column inch of mulch on top of the compost to assist with wet retention and weed control .
Things Needed
Purple Phlox Facts
Types
usual regal phlox variety admit the creeping Sherwood Purple ( Phlox stolonifera ) and the graphic Purple Flame ( Phlox paniculata ) . Other pop coinage include the violet - low Andre ( Phlox paniculata ) and the lavender Laura ( Phlox paniculata ) .
Features
royal phlox plant stray in height from just a few centimeters for the creep varieties to 4 feet tall for the garden phlox motley . Most phlox change blossom from July through August or September .
Culture
Purple phlox mixed bag originate well in USDA zone 4 to 8 . All phlox species thrive in fecund , well - drained stain in gay to lightly shady locations .
Uses
Purple varieties of garden phlox are unremarkably used as border in perennial gardens and to attract hummingbirds in bird gardens . Creeping phlox make believe vivacious ground - covers in lifelike garden and careen garden .
Problems
over-embellished phlox plants are susceptible to solution guff and powdery mold . Spider mites and tarnished works bugs are frequently a problem in wry , hot clime .
How to Keep Phlox Flowering
plant life phlox in an area where it will find at least six 60 minutes of direct sunlight each day .
Apply a flowering plant plant food when new growth starts each spring following the directions on the packaging . repetition software each month during the growing time of year .
Water your phlox weekly to keep the grunge moist over the outflow , summer and fall . Avoid wetting the foliage and stems when watering to lower the peril of disease .
sum up a 2 to 3 - in - deep layer of mulch around the base of your phlox plant using bark mulch , compost or pine phonograph needle . Spread the mulch 1 foot beyond the base of the plant to keep weeds away and keep the moisture in the soil .
Dig up your phlox in the former wintertime if it has been four to five years since it was establish and disunite the body of the plant life into three or four divisions . set each division out into a unexampled spot , keeping the plants at least 18 to 24 inches apart to allow room for ontogenesis .
If your phlox get going to face ragged and have desolate spots , trim any exhausted stem back after the works bloom before giving it some plant food . you could snip each class , but only if your phlox needs it .
Phlox Facts
When in bloom , phlox are covered with group of small , sweet - smelling , star - shaped flowers from pallid pastels to lifelike brights , include pinkish , red , lilac-colored , purple and bloodless . The two most vulgar types are the springiness - blooming creeping phlox and the marvelous garden phlox that bloom in mid to late summer .
Function
habituate creeping phlox as a ground cover in rock gardens or woodland planting . Use taller phlox in the background of minute border or between different sized plant in wider roomer . Phlox attract hummingbird and butterflies and make good for gelded flowers .
Growing Conditions
Plant phlox in well - drain soil . Tall garden phlox do well in full sunshine or abstemious wraith , but some other types favour more tone .
Planting
Plant phlox 1 to 2 foot aside in a hole twice as extensive as the diameter of the pot your phlox came in . The crown of your industrial plant should be 1 to 2 inches below the surface of the soil .
Cutting Back
When the stems give about 6 inch tall , cut down back all but five or six to boost broad blooms and increase air circulation . Remove faded bloom to encourage more heyday and to keep the blooms their original color .
Mulching
put on a sparse layer of compost cross with 2 inches of mulch in the natural spring to avail keep on moisture and control weeds .
How to Care for Your Garden Phlox
industrial plant garden phlox during early bound , just after the terminal hoar of winter , in a location that pick up direct sun throughout the day . Spread 4 inches of organic compost over the planting land site and utilise a garden tiller to integrate it into the soil .
Water garden phlox once per calendar week during spring , summer and dip . Reduce frequency to once every two weeks during wintertime . Increase water to doubly per calendar week during periods of drought , when more than 1 week has slip by without rainfall .
provender garden phlox using a 5 - 10 - 5 NPK fertilizer in early spring to encourage the ontogeny of flowers or else of foliage . Water thoroughly both before and after applying the fertilizer . implement follow the directions offer on the package .
polish off dead or fading garden phlox blossom as before long as possible to prevent them from turning to seminal fluid . filch them off as close to the root word as possible and new flowers will replace them after a poor time .
Remove all but the five healthiest stems once the plant has grow to about 6 inch in height to increase air circulation . cutting also tolerate garden phlox to grow more thickly and produce more flowers .
Phlox can be allowed to grow without thinning out the weaker vines , but it will be more susceptible to disease .
Warning
Garden phlox is commonly eaten by groundhogs , deer and rabbits . The plant should be fenced off in garden that are approachable to wildlife .
