Content
Phlox Sherbet Blend is a plant with a unique flower color. Because of this, it is often confused with hydrangea. For normal growth and flowering, the crop requires regular care, consisting of timely watering and fertilizing. But the effort is worth it, since of all the variety of phlox, the Sherbet Blend variety is one of the most decorative. In addition, it has a wonderful aroma.
Description of paniculate phlox Sherbet Blend
The stems of phlox Sherbet Blend have a length of 100 to 120 cm. They have a round cross-section and are strong enough to support the weight of heavy inflorescences without additional support. The bush is moderately spreading, reaching 120 cm in diameter.
The leaves of phlox Sherbet Blend have a standard shape for the species: they are pointed at the end, their dimensions are 80-100 mm in length and 20 mm in width. The color of the leaves and stems is light green.
Sherbet Blend phlox flowers have a complex color: they are pink inside and yellowish-green outside.
The crop is light-loving, but it can also be grown in partial shade.In the middle of the day, to prevent too bright sun from burning the plant, it is recommended to shade it.
The growth rate is high, but when it reaches a certain size it slows down. This is due to the fact that the rhizome practically does not grow after 4-5 years, since the crop lacks nutrients and requires its division.
The frost resistance of phlox Sherbet Blend corresponds to the fourth zone, that is, the plant can withstand temperatures down to - 35 ° C. It is cultivated in the European part of Russia up to the Urals.
Features of flowering phlox Sherbet Blend
Phlox Sherbet Blend is a typical representative of the European group. The diameter of the flowers can reach up to 50 mm, but, as a rule, they never fully unfold. The petals are wavy, at the beginning of the bud opening they are colored yellowish, but as they open, the center changes color to pink.
Phlox inflorescences Sherbet Blend are large and dense, up to 20-25 cm in diameter
It blooms for a very long time, from July to September. This has a simple explanation - the plant’s buds bloom unevenly. At the same time, the filling of the paniculate brush is quite dense, and there are no falling fragments in it, that is, the decorativeness of the bush does not suffer.
In open areas, the flowering intensity is higher, but the petals dry out faster, which leads to a reduction in its duration by about a month. In shaded areas, the size of the panicles is slightly smaller (no more than 18 cm), but the density of the individual components remains the same as in the illuminated areas. The duration of flowering in partial shade is also shorter due to the fact that some buds do not even have time to open.
In addition to illumination, the duration and intensity of flowering is affected by soil fertility and applied fertilizers, which is typical for all representatives of phlox.
Application in design
Like all similar tall semi-spreading bushes, phlox Sherbet Blend is widely used in the design of garden and summer cottages. Given its high decorative value, it is often used in the recently fashionable monogarden-floxaria, that is, planting several tens of square meters of the same crop.
In addition, the plant is used as the basis of a flower arrangement. You can create picturesque areas by planting phlox Sherbet Blend with other flowers that are in the same range (that is, both pink and yellowish-green).
A mixborder with tall lilies and irises can be a good solution for the crop.
It is allowed to plant Sherbet Blend phlox against the background of tall hedges of coniferous plants, use them as medium-sized borders, and also use them as free-standing elements in alpine slides and rockeries. They also look good in the center of flower beds with low-growing annuals and perennials.
It is allowed to grow the crop in a separate container (not in the open air, in greenhouses and other premises). You just need to remember that the size of the root system of Sherbet Blend phlox is quite large, and once every 3-4 years the rhizome will have to be divided, replanting its parts into smaller containers.
Reproduction methods
Obtaining offspring from this crop completely repeats this process in most garden perennials and can be either vegetative or seed. The latter is rarely used due to long cultivation periods and unpredictability of characteristics in the offspring, since pollination can be cross-pollinated with other varieties or hybrids.
Most often, propagation, traditional for perennials with large rhizomes, is used by dividing the bush, coupled with replanting the plant. Usually, at the age of 3 years or more, the crop needs to update its root system. The growth rate slows down because it cannot cope with the supply of nutrients to the bush.
In phlox Sherbet Blend, the rhizome is divided into separate single roots (up to 10 pieces), which are then planted in open ground
It is recommended to select only the strongest roots that have a large number of lateral branches. The transplant is carried out to a new place, but this is advisory and not mandatory.
If it is necessary to obtain a large number of seedlings, a more complex method is used, which consists of cutting stem cuttings. In this case, the stem is divided into fragments up to 20 cm long, having at least three nodes.
Stem cuttings can be planted immediately in their permanent habitat and 9/10 of them will take root well if propagation was carried out in early summer.
If you need even more planting material, use leaf cuttings containing 1-2 nodes.But they are grown in greenhouses, and the survival rate rarely exceeds 40%.
Propagation by layering is also sometimes used, but since it is recommended to cut the stems in the fall, they may not have time to form a root at the point where soil is sprinkled.
Before planting, stem cuttings can be treated with Kornevin
Landing rules
The optimal time for planting phlox Sherbet Blend is late summer or early autumn. Plants planted at other times (from seeds in spring, and from leaf cuttings in early summer) do not take root very well and require too much time to develop.
To plant Sherbet Blend phlox, choose a sunny area with the possibility of shading the bush for 1-2 hours at noon. The soil must be loose and fertile. The crop grows well on medium-density loams with weak acidity (pH not lower than 6.5).
Soil preparation is carried out a month before the intended planting. It consists of the following stages:
- clearing the area of weeds;
- application of fertilizers (organic matter is best - humus, compost or peat);
- adding baking powder to heavy soils;
- repeated digging of the landing site and its leveling;
- watering the prepared area.
The seed does not require preparation; cuttings and seedlings can be planted immediately after purchase or receipt.
The depth of the holes for phlox Sherbet Blend depends on the size of the root system (for cuttings 5-6 cm). The distance between planting holes is from half a meter. Watering is carried out 2-3 days after planting.
Aftercare
Watering phlox Sherbet Blend is carried out when the top layer of soil dries. The plant requires a large amount of moisture for normal growth and development, so watering rates are up to two buckets per square meter.m area.
Loosening at the end of the procedure is necessary, because phlox Sherbet Blend does not tolerate stagnation of moisture in the soil. This also simplifies air access to the roots. Watering is carried out in the evening.
Sherbet Blend phlox bushes require four feedings:
- In early spring, after the snow melts, a complex nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer is used for ornamental plants.
- At the end of May (budding period), phosphorus-potassium fertilizers for flowers are used in a minimum concentration.
- At the end of June (beginning of flowering), fertilizing similar to the previous one is used, but with a full concentration of fertilizers.
- At the end of September, after flowering and pruning, use organic matter or complex fertilizer for flowers.
Pruning the plant is done immediately after it blooms. The stems must be cut off, leaving stumps no more than 10 cm high. After pruning, the soil should be treated with antifungal drugs and insect and tick repellent.
Preparing for winter
Phlox Sherbet Blend does not require specific preparation for the winter period, since the stems die off at the end of autumn anyway, and the root system can tolerate frosts down to -35 °C. Nevertheless, it is advisable to carry out some minimal care procedure, but not so much in order to prepare for the cold, but to provide the plant with nutrients in early spring.
Usually, for this purpose, the stumps from the cut stems are sprinkled with a bucket of horse manure and covered with some material. To avoid rotting of the root system in early spring, use “breathable” agrofibre.
Pests and diseases
The greatest danger to phlox Sherbet Blend is represented by fungal diseases in the form of downy mildew and gray rot. The most unpleasant pest is the root-knot nematode.
The symptoms of downy mildew are standard for almost all crops - leaves covered with a white coating
Bushes growing in excessively damp and poorly ventilated areas are usually affected. In sunny areas, practically no cases of the disease are recorded. The disease is combated by removing the affected fragments and spraying the plant with any fungicide.
With gray rot, the foliage on the stem wilts
Initially, light dots appear on the plant, which over time turn into spots. Over time they grow and merge. There are many black dots on the back of the leaves. Stems, as a rule, are not affected by the disease.
There is no treatment as such; the plant will have to be removed completely. The remaining crops in the garden are treated with a solution of 1% Bordeaux mixture or the drug Hom. To prevent its appearance, it is recommended to add Fitosporin to the soil.
A nematode is one of the main pests, which is a worm with a long and very thin body; it lives in the stems of a plant and feeds on it.
Nematode-infected phloxes become distorted and their leaves curl up
There are no effective pest control methods. All that remains is prevention: the growing point of plants with minor damage is removed. Bushes with serious lesions are destroyed. In this way, they try to kill adult nematodes so that they cannot produce offspring that would infect the crop the next year.
Conclusion
Phlox Sherbet Blend is a beautiful spreading perennial bush with decorative flowers of two different shades. Its cultivation requires concentration and precision, since to maintain the plant in good shape, it is necessary to follow a watering and fertilizing schedule. In landscape design, phlox Sherbet Blend is used in a wide variety of roles - from an element of a monogarden to a central “role” in a flower bed. You can use it to make borders and background plantings.
