I have these very tall purple phlox which I love - at the end of every season they get the horrible dreaded powedery mildew....it seems like I can't do anything to stop it - and trust me I have tried. Just curious to know which phlox are mildew resistent if there are any??? TIA ;-)
Phlox
Sorry one more question - it is possible to collect seeds from phlox and replant them?? I have no idea about seeds and stuff?? If you can do this how is it done???
I find phlox incredibly easy to root from cuttings. Get some seed starting soil or sterile potting mix, make a cut near a node, remove leaves, plung in soil and keep watered. Viola! New Plant! Right now I have David, Bright eyes, Laura and two others I can't think of and none have mildew. Are yours well ventilated? Have you tried the baking soda, oil and water sprays?
Yes Candi I have tried the baking soda thing but for this type of phlox it is very difficult. I do have a varigated form that does very well though. I just love phlox! It is so pretty when it blooms.
I have had 'Dsvid' for many years, never had any mildue but other I have had suffer from it
Hi Dawn,
I ran across a site online that rated phlox by mildew resistance and I wrote the names down. The ones they listed as the most resistant are:
Delta Snow (white with lavender)
Red Magic (hot pink)
David (white)
Eden's Crush (light pink with dark pink)
Darwin's Joyce (medium pink)
Blue Boy (lavender with white)
Robert Poore (lavender with white)
Also, when I was exploring "Perry's Perennial Pages", the site created by UVM professor, Dr. Leonard Perry, I found a new tip for preventing mildew from getting established on Monarda and Phlox. He suggested to spray the antidessicant, Wiltpruf, on the leaves. Might be worth a shot. I intend to try it. I work at a garden center and all the rain and humidity have caused us to have severe mildew problems.
Finally, I wouldn't try to propagate your phlox from seed. Most garden phlox nowadays are hybrids and won't come true from seed. All you'll probably get is an inferior variety in a muddy purple color. Better to divide the plants you have now or purchase more.
Good luck. Hope this helps.
Terre
Hi Dawn,
I'm Cindy, I have not been around much on Dave's in the past year but I'm back. I was very happy to see we have a Northeast forum!
I love phlox too, and I find David to be very mildew resistant. That's not to say it never gets mildew, but it gets it much less than other varieties.
Candy, I never tried starting phlox from cuttings- you have inspired me!
And Terre, you have offered some great suggestions, I have a lot of phlox and I would like to try them. I think the plant hybridizers are trying to breed mildew resistance into the new varieties so ther is hope for the future.
One thing I find with phlox is that I can control mildew somewhat by watering at the base of the plant with a slow drip soaker hose (drip irrigation would work too),
keeping the soil moist and the leaves dry. Phlox will live if it dries out, but it will get mildew more easily. Overhead watering just makes the problem worse. We have so much humidity, and you can't control dew on the leaves, but watering the soil, not the leaves, helps a lot.
enjoy your day,
Cindy
I've never had a problem with powdery mildew on my phlox, so I'm not sure what to tell you about that, sorry. Also, I don't know about collecting the seeds from the plant, but my phlox does comes back every year from the roots. Also, a friend and I swapped some phlox one year through division of the plants. I gave her some of my reddish/purple phlox, and she gave me some of her white phlox.
Hope that helps at least a little bit!
:)
Just in case you haven't been able to resolve the problem of Powdery Mildew on tall garden phlox (or any perennial susceptible to mildew for that matter), I have had great success using a solution of milk sprayed on the plants.
I have the hybrid "Orange Perfection," and it really took a hit from Powdery Mildew earlier this summer. I'd tried all the standard home remedies and nothing was helping this plant. Then I recalled reading some posts online a few yrs back that suggested spraying plants with a milk solution to control PM. It's felt there's an enzyme in the milk that inhibits the growth of PM.
I couldn't recall the exact mixture, so I went with a 50% solution of one percent milk and water...sprayed upper and lower leaves thoroughly and then drenched the soil around the root ball with about a cup of the mixture. From what I recalled, you can use any type of milk (except condensed, of course) and I just used what I had on hand in the refrigerator.
Viola....within a week, the poor thing was looking much better; and now, it's just about back to perfect health. Give it a try...I'm so glad I did, and now this home remedy is part of my gardening "tricks of the trade."
baking soda
http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/powderymildew.asp
and volcano phlox claims to be mildew resistant... but it's not tall... this is my first year with them will soon find out how they do
http://www.tesselaar.com/Display.aspx?Page=Details&ID=161&Region=NA
The Blooms of Bressingham variety "Flower Power" has been doing well for me this summer, blooming steadily without mildew. White with a hint of pink at the eye.
Yes I have tried the milk mixture and yes it does work. It also worked on my clematis! Almost instantly too! Yay!