Phlox, Garden Phlox 'Mixed Hybrids, Noids'

The species is generally quite mildew resistant and more vigorous than the cultivars. Height varies, but some forms can reach 6' tall. Ev...Read Moreen the tallest rarely need staking. Flowers are usually magenta.

Despite the common belief, most of the cultivars are selections of P. paniculata and few if any in commerce today are hybrids. In buying them, I consider resistance to powdery mildew first.

Performance is generally best with regular division every 2-3 years. Plants are best divided in early spring before they reach 6". If you have to divide later, the top growth should be cut back to 6". I don't recommend fall division.

Seedlings of cultivars can give interesting results, but if allowed to self-sow freely eventually tend to revert to type, with magenta flowers---and the vigor of these descendants leads them to outcompete the cultivars in your garden.

Tall forms rarely need staking, and our gardens need more of them. The recent emphasis on breeding very short cultivars is demanded by the 18" shelving on which they're transported to the retailer, and not by the needs of the gardener.

Garden phlox performs best where summer night temperatures routinely drop below 70F.

In the wild, this species is usually found in moist woodland edges and clearings in partial or light shade, not in open fields in full sun. In cultivation, performance is generally best with some protection from hot afternoon sun, even in the north. Drought stress increases susceptibility to powdery mildew. 2" of mulch helps, as does regular irrigation.

The leaf extract was once used medicinally, both orally and topically. The pollen has low allergenicity.

This one is the 'Texas Pink' cultivar, bred to take the hot humid Texas summers and supposedly resistent to powdery mildew. That certainl...Read Morey has been my experience, I have never seen a single speck of that stuff on these babies. They are continuing to thrive and spread with a real minimum of care, close to ten years since I planted them there.

Didn' t thrive in my area, obviously needs cold at dormancy period.

Garden Phlox has always done okay for me. They looked good for awhile, powdery mildew hit, they flopped, blooms ended, I cut them back. ...Read More But last year I did something different, and I don't know if that is what helped or if it was a coincidence, but they were amazing! In the early spring, while they were still fairly short, I thinned out a lot of the smaller stems. I know that would help make them stronger and reduce powdery mildew, but what was amazing was they bloomed continuously for months. As the blooms would start to fade, new ones would form in the old clusters. I never deadheaded them, never fertilized them, nothing. No powdery mildew, no flopping. I will definitely thin them again. Blooms July-September in my garden.