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Phlox splayed is a perennial garden plant with interesting decorative qualities. Flowers are popular due to their beauty, but they need to be cared for according to all the rules.
Description of perennial splayed phlox
Spreading, Canadian or spreading phlox is a perennial from the Sinyukhov family and the Phlox genus. The stems of the plant are dense, creeping type, the perennial forms a turf cover in the places where it grows. The perennial leaves are elongated, lanceolate, bright green. The plant blooms in May or June and produces inflorescences in the form of splayed corymbs, hence the name. The drop-shaped petals of phlox spread out to the sides, attaching to the core with tapering parts.
Perennial flowers resemble straightened scutes
The height of the spreading phlox usually does not exceed 20-40 cm, the diameter of the bush is about 50-60 cm, and the diameter of the flowers is about 3 cm.Phlox is quite spreading in structure; several perennials planted nearby can form a bright, noticeable flower bed.
Spreading Canadian phlox prefers to grow in partial shade or in lighted areas with light shading in the afternoon. The plant needs moist and nutritious, slightly acidic soils; perennials can also grow on dry and poor soils, but not as actively. Under good conditions, the perennial adds several centimeters per year and forms a full-fledged flowering bush in about 3 seasons.
The homeland of spreading phlox is North America, but currently it grows in Europe, in Russia in the middle zone and even in Siberia. The plant feels best in the Central region with a mild climate, but can also grow in more severe climate areas. The frost resistance of the plant allows it to tolerate temperatures down to -30 °C, and if the perennial is well covered, then lower temperatures will not lead to freezing.
Types and varieties of phlox splayed
Spreading phlox comes in many varieties. They differ from each other in the height and color of the inflorescences - a wide variety allows gardeners to choose the most interesting plants for their site.
Chattahoochee
The spreading phlox variety usually does not exceed 25 cm in height and produces raised inflorescences of a bluish-lilac color with a purple eye in the middle. The plant blooms in early spring, but with the onset of hot weather, flowering quickly stops. Due to its compactness and beauty, the spreading Chattahoochee phlox is often grown in rock gardens and pots.
Chattahoochee - compact variety with lilac blooms
White Perfume
Phlox splayed White Perfum produces dense and beautiful white flowers about 2 cm in diameter, sometimes several on one stem. Flowering occurs in May and June. The height of the plant is 30-40 cm; with the help of spread phlox White Perfume you can form a beautiful carpet on the lawn in the garden.
White Perfume - a variety with snow-white flowers
Blue Moon
The Blue Moon variety rises only 20 cm in height and bears very small flowers about 4 mm in diameter. They are blue-lilac in color. Mass flowering usually begins at the end of May and continues until the last days of June, but if the spreading phlox Blue Moon grows in a shaded place, the flowers can last longer. Due to its short stature, the variety is ideal for forming soil cover.
Blue Moon - lavender-blue variety with small flowers
Clouds of Perfume
The height of phlox of this variety is on average 25-30 cm. The plant produces beautiful lavender-colored flowers in mid-spring and exudes a pleasant lavender aroma, which explains the name. The spreading blue phlox prefers to grow in partial shade; it can spread up to 60 cm wide, forming a bright turf in the area it occupies.
Clouds of Perfume - blue phlox variety
Variegata
The Variegata variety is a very unusual variegated phlox. The leaf blades of the perennial are green, but with a white border along the edges, the flowers are pinkish-lilac, with a dark eye in the core. The height of Variegata does not exceed 30 cm, blooms from late May to early July.
The plant prefers warm, well-lit areas, but reacts negatively to stagnant moisture in the soil. It is best to plant Variegata as part of alpine slides and borders located in the sun.
Variegata - a variety with two-colored leaves
Monstrose Tricolor
Another unusual spreading phlox features tricolor leaves - green leaf blades are decorated with white and pink stripes. An adult perennial rises 30 cm from the ground and blooms with lavender flowers in May-June. At the same time, in sunny areas Montrose Tricolor brings more flowers, and in shaded areas it continues to bloom longer.
Montrose Tricolor - variety with tricolor leaves
Application in design
Spreading phlox is widely used in landscape design; it can be included in flower beds, rock gardens, and mixborders. The plant is used to decorate garden paths or simply plant it in empty areas to form a beautiful flower carpet.
White spreading phlox is an excellent neighbor for coniferous plants, as it looks very advantageous against a dark green background. The perennial is also planted next to bergenia and astrantia, variegated molinia, geranium and asters.
With the help of perennials you can form a very beautiful soil cover
A popular option for forming a flower bed is to plant several varieties of phlox in one composition. Contrary to popular misconception, you can plant varieties of different colors side by side, and this will not affect their health, beauty or color saturation.
Because spreading phlox is a very short and compact plant, it is often grown in pots and flowerpots.In this case, you can place the perennial on the balcony, loggia or terrace; it will enliven the atmosphere and will not require special care. The main thing is not to forget that you need to keep plants in pots in diffused light, protecting them from direct sunlight, otherwise the roots of perennials inside the flowerpots and pots will overheat.
Perennial grows well in pots and flowerpots
Reproduction methods
You can propagate splayed phlox on a site using several methods:
- Dividing the bush. An adult perennial can be carefully dug out of the ground in spring or early autumn and divided into 2-3 parts for planting. In this case, you need to try not to damage the roots.
- By cuttings. In mid-May, you need to cut off a young strong shoot with 2 internodes from a phlox bush, plant it in moist soil and cover it with a glass jar on top. In a couple of months, the phlox will take root and will be able to bloom the next season.
- By layering. This method of propagation is one of the easiest, since the stems of the perennial almost creep along the ground. One of the shoots needs to be lightly sprinkled with soil and moistened throughout the warm season; the cuttings will quickly take root. Next spring it can be planted.
- Seeds. The growing procedure looks simple. The seeds are lightly buried in soil made of peat, sand, humus and deciduous soil, and then covered with film and regularly moistened the soil until sprouts appear. But in fact, plants reproduce by seeds rather poorly, and germination takes a lot of time.
Most often, layering and dividing the bush are used for breeding phlox - these methods are the simplest and most effective. Cuttings and seed propagation require large energy costs.
Perennials are propagated vegetatively - by layering, cuttings and dividing the bush
Planting and caring for splayed phlox
It is recommended to plant splayed phlox in the garden in mid- or late spring, when the ground has completely thawed and warmed up. However, it is important not to be late with the deadlines; if you start planting too late, then in hot weather the plant will develop more slowly.
Half-shaded areas of the garden or places where shade is established in the afternoon are optimal for planting splayed phlox. The perennial grows poorly in dense shade, but does not do well in bright sun either. The soil for the plant should be well moistened, but not swampy. The composition of slightly acidified, fertile and loose soils is good.
It is best to plant phlox next to a pond.
Before planting splayed phlox, you need to choose high-quality material with a greenish stem at the base. A good cutting should have 4–6 strong shoots with healthy buds and several leaves. The roots of the division should be about 15 cm in length. Immediately before planting, phlox should be soaked in water for a couple of hours and its roots should be slightly trimmed.
The algorithm for planting in the ground looks like this:
- The selected area is dug up and watered abundantly, then a small hole is dug about 30 cm deep and 50 cm wide.
- Complex fertilizers are poured into the bottom of the hole, and the top is half filled with fertile soil mixed with sand and peat.
- A section of spread phlox is lowered into the hole and the roots are sprinkled.Vegetative buds should remain approximately 5 cm above the ground surface.
Immediately after planting, the plant is watered and mulched with peat. If phloxes are planted in large quantities, then the distance between them should be left at 45-60 cm.
The perennial loves moisture, but reacts poorly to waterlogging
Aftercare
Phlox is quite easy to care for. When growing a perennial plant, it is important to pay attention to watering; it must be regular. In hot weather, it is necessary to moisten the spread phlox daily, albeit little by little; on rainy days, 1 watering per week will be enough.
Feeding the plant has a positive effect on flowering, so phlox should be fertilized from late spring to mid-summer. Usually, before the plant blooms, chicken manure and superphosphate are added to the soil, and immediately during flowering, superphosphate, potassium salt and fluoride fertilizers are added. After flowering, the bushes no longer need to be fed; until the end of the season, they will have enough nutrients remaining in the soil.
In the fertile, loose soil on which ornamental flowers grow, weeds often form. They take away moisture and nutrients from the perennial and therefore require mandatory removal. You need to carefully loosen the soil in flower beds with plants at least twice a month.
Feed the plant only before and during flowering
Preparing for winter
Phlox has good frost resistance, but requires special preparation for winter. With the onset of autumn, it is necessary to carry out several procedures:
- Trimming. At the end of flowering, the spreading phlox is pruned so as to remove all wilted inflorescences and leave only green shoots above the ground, rising about 10 cm. To protect against pests and fungi, the base of the bushes is then sprayed with fungicides and insecticides.
- Feeding. In early or mid-October, the ground under the bushes is generously mulched with organic fertilizers - half a bucket of horse manure or 3/4 of a bucket of peat. Organic matter will help insulate the roots of the perennial and at the same time nourish the plant with useful substances.
Before the onset of cold weather, the trimmed, splayed phlox is covered with tops or spruce branches. It is not customary to wrap phlox with Lutrasil or burlap; light shelter is enough for the plant to calmly survive the frosts.
Pests and diseases
With careless care, splayed phlox often suffers from several ailments:
- Powdery mildew — a “fluffy” white coating appears on the leaves. Over time, the leaves begin to wither and the plant dies.
Powdery mildew appears as a recognizable white coating
- Septoria - leaves become covered with grayish and brown dots and spots. The foliage turns yellow and dries, and the phlox may die completely.
Septoria causes premature wilting of leaves
- Fomoz — the foliage at the bottom curls. The proper nutrition of the perennial is disrupted, the plant begins to wither and dry out.
With Phoma, the disease spreads from the bottom of the perennial upward
- Rust - leaves become covered with small but frequent brown dots. Soon the foliage dries out and falls off, and the vital activity of the phlox stops.
You can recognize rust by spots of a characteristic rusty color.
Spraying with Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate helps against fungal diseases; you can also use Fundazol.
Among the pests that are dangerous for perennials are:
- slugs — pests feed on the vital juices of foliage;
The easiest way to spot slugs on splayed phlox is
- spider mite - with a serious infection, you can see a whitish cobweb on the leaves;
Spider mite infestation is characterized by brown spots and cobwebs on the foliage.
- nematodes - microscopic worms lead to thickening of the stems and thinning of the upper shoots;
Nematode worms are difficult to spot and symptoms usually appear in the later stages of infection.
- snails — small mollusks harm perennials because they feed on leaf juices.
Seemingly harmless snails can destroy a decorative flower bed
Kinmiks and Aktara can cure insect infestations, and in order to notice pests in time, it is worth regularly inspecting the leaves and stems of the plant.
You can even grow flowering perennials on the balcony
Conclusion
Phlox splayed is a beautiful low-growing perennial with long flowering. In the garden, the plant is used to create flower beds, rock gardens and to decorate lawns and slopes, while caring for the perennial is quite simple.
