Phlox: Planting, Growing, and Caring for Fragrant Perennials

Catherine Boeckmann

Phlox are perennials and a favorite among wildflowers. These plants sport many star-shaped, colorful flowers when in bloom. With so many varieties, there's a phlox for almost any garden. They make great ground cover, pair well with other ground covers, are easy to care for, and low maintenance. Add to bouquets for fragrance.

Planting Phlox

• Prepare garden bed with fork or tiller. Loosen soil 12–15 inches deep, mix in 2–4 inches of compost.
• Easier to grow from cuttings/transplants than seeds.
• Plant in spring, spacing 1–2 feet apart. For potted plants: dig hole twice pot diameter, set plant with root ball level with soil surface, backfill, water thoroughly.

Three growth categories:

1. Woodland species (Blue phlox, Creeping phlox) — evenly moist, humus-rich soil, full to partial sun.
2. Low, mounding phlox (Sand phlox, Chattahoochee) — average, well-drained, sandy/loamy soil, full sun.
3. Border phlox (Carolina, Meadow, Garden phlox) — moist, well-drained, average to rich soil, full to partial sun.

Care

• Water regularly if rainfall <1 inch/week in summer.
• Each spring: thin compost layer + 2-inch mulch for moisture retention and weed control.
• Deadhead faded flowers for rebloom.
• For tall phlox: cut stems to 1–2 inches above soil after first killing frost. Divide tall garden phlox every 2–3 years for healthy, disease-free plants.

Pests and Diseases

• Powdery mildew
• Stem canker
• Rust
• Southern blight
• Stem nematodes
• Leaf spots
• Leaf miners
• Caterpillars

Recommended Varieties

• Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) — good ground cover, especially under shrubs (shade-tolerant).
• Wagon wheel (Phlox adsurgens) — pretty salmon-pink flowers with spoke-like petals.
• Sternenzauber (Phlox drummondii) — fringed, pointed petals resembling stars.

Wit & Wisdom

Native Americans called April's full Moon the "Full Pink Moon" for the appearance of moss pink (wild ground phlox)—one of the first spring flowers.