Phlox: Interesting Varieties And Care

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

We grow a fabulous phlox garden

Phlox varieties

Phlox varieties Akkura

Our first phloxes appeared in my grandmother's garden, and since then they are inextricably linked in my memory with childhood, the end of summer, fallen leaves. Their lush inflorescences are good both in the garden and at home in a colorful bouquet, when their aroma becomes especially pronounced.

We have never bred phlox specifically. Each variety was purchased on the occasion, sometimes from a specialist, and sometimes from hands on the market. Phlox attracts by the fact that they are unpretentious, calmly tolerate partial shade, in which they can grow for a long time and please the eye. They grow well in sunny places.

But what a variety of these fragrant flowers there is - more than 1500 varieties with pleasing names have been bred by specialists! The most diverse and known to many species is paniculata phlox: pink-red tones prevail in its color palette. Many varieties have various spots, smears, rings, eyes on the main background of the corolla.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

There is no yellow tone in the color palette of paniculata phlox, and blue and blue can be seen only early in the morning, towards evening or in cloudy weather. Violet and dark purple phloxes often change color in the sun, and the edges of their petals can dry out from dew, so these colors should be combined with other tones, for example, with light pink.

In my opinion, the lilac-lilac-violet range of colors is especially good. They show themselves effectively when not planted in the bright sun. Among them, the lilac-purple variety Fiosin looks elegant, especially in combination with white varieties, for example, the Polar Bear. The phloxes are very good, the light purple grade Igor Talkov and the ink-blue grade Blue Sea.

Phlox varieties Polar Bear

The original pale lilac-blue variety with a large white center Lyubasha, the phlox of the Lilovaya Mantya variety is magnificent. A dark violet-purple, velvet Sorcerer with a light lining of wavy petals is one of the oldest varieties in our garden. Dark violet-blue, inky with a light purple hue, the Tayna variety (bred by P. G. Gaganov back in 1963) is the darkest phlox from the violet range. It will add a touch of mystery to any bouquet. Violet-blue with a purple eye variety Blue Paradis is very beautiful - it is almost always present in it, shimmering depending on the lighting, namely violet-blue tones.

Among all the colors of phlox, in my opinion, a special place is occupied by "smoky" ones, although against the background of bright colors they may even be invisible. But you look at them and you find with amazement all the shades, strokes and even half-tones in the color of the flower petals. In our garden of "smoky" phloxes, we are invariably pleased with the Uralskie Skazy variety - the color of its flowers is dark pink with a mother-of-pearl haze along the edge of the petals with a bright carmine ring in the center. The petals are not located in the same plane, but are slightly bent towards the center, which increases the volume of a flower with a diameter of 3.7 cm. The "bush" of the plant is compact, winter-hardy, of medium height.

The brainchild of Yu. A. Reprev, who devoted more than 40 years of his life to the selection of phlox, is the Bach variety. The deep coral pink tone of its slightly wavy petals is gradually covered with a brownish gray haze. In the center, around the carmine ring, the second ring of pure tone is drawn, as it were.

The flower is large, more than 4 cm in diameter, the "caps" of the inflorescences are large. The bush is of medium height, slender, strong stems. In our flower garden has not bloomed yet, but the famous variegated phlox of the Dragon variety is growing up. Although it was bred by P. G. Gaganov back in 1958, in recent years it has become very popular in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Its large, up to 4 cm in diameter, flowers of a dark purple-violet hue with silvery strokes are mesmerizing.

Phlox varieties Anya Gaganova

The red-pink range, no less than the lilac-violet, is capable of striking with a variety of shades and half-tones, moving from pale pink to crimson-red.

An absolute favorite in our garden from this group of phlox is Mishenka variety with an original "chintz" color. Its fractional-conical inflorescence is distinguished by its very early, abundant and long flowering. Perhaps the most delicate, seemingly transparent pink shade of the petals is the phlox of the Apple Blossom variety, which resembles a weightless pink cloud during flowering.

The variety Anya Gaganova (P. G. Gaganov, 1935) of an unusually warm pale pink tone with a white star in the center always blooms profusely. It has been growing in our country for a long time, and in different conditions: in the shade, and in dense plantings. Not sick with anything. The same pale pink color with a raspberry eye and the Akkurat variety. Its bush is strong, grows well. This is a very delicate, somewhat attractive variety that you always want to have in the garden, despite the new, more spectacular varieties. From the rich pink range, the cherry-purple variety Enchantress stands out with petals bent inward, resembling a propeller.

But the phlox of the Flame variety cannot be overlooked - it is a particularly bright, expressive, “fiery” phlox with dark carmine-red flowers with a raspberry shade that do not fade in the sun. Variety Flame is a long-time favorite of ours, as, indeed, is the original smoky new settler Magic Blue variety - raspberry-purple with an eye of the same color and with a beautiful white center, similar to a flower. As the flower ages, a gray haze appears along the edge of its petals, while the white center gradually turns crimson-purple.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

Phlox care

Phlox varieties Dragon

A place for planting phlox is better to choose light or semi-shady with fertile soil and sufficient moisture. The soil should be cultivated to a depth of 30 cm, we add compost, wood ash, which is very useful for phlox in that it increases the resistance of phlox to diseases and even improves the severity of colors in inflorescences.

The distance between the bushes when planting is 35-45 cm for low-growing varieties, 50-60 cm for tall ones.

Flowering begins in late June and lasts for 1.5-2 months.

It is important for novice growers to know that the phlox rhizome is arranged in such a way that growth buds are laid on it a little higher than the bulk of the roots, which deliver water and food to these stems. The stems that will develop from these buds the next year, in turn, will also lay roots slightly higher. Thus, the rhizome constantly expands and rises, over time it sticks out from the ground. Therefore, flower growers need to ensure that the buds are not exposed. It is necessary to gradually add fertile soil to them, since unclosed buds can die in severe frosts.

Phlox varieties Bach

Phlox is easy to propagate by dividing the bush, cuttings, axillary shoots. With this reproduction, all the characteristics of the variety, as a rule, are preserved. But from the seeds with painstaking selection, you can get a new, previously unseen variety. Everyone can master the selection method, because it is easy to do. In the fall, collect well-ripened seeds and sow them immediately into the soil before the first fall frost. Next spring, young phlox will grow, which should bloom by autumn. True, in the cold climate of St. Petersburg we did not manage to see the flowering of seedlings in the first year - the summer heat was just a little short.

Phlox flowers in bouquets can decorate any home. To keep them in the water for a long time, cut off the phlox late in the evening or in the morning when the dew dries on them, and immediately put them in cold water for 1-2 hours. It was also noticed that inflorescences cut from bushes that were watered the day before remain in the water longer than from bushes that have not been watered. Before placing phloxes, be sure to remove the lower leaves into the water, otherwise they will quickly rot and lead to the death of the entire peduncle.

It is advisable to change the water in the vases daily, and update the cuts with a sharp knife or razor, since harmful microorganisms rapidly multiply at the cut site, clogging all conducting vessels and thus blocking the access of water to the inflorescence.