Native Phlox for Every Garden!
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- 5 min read
Sun, shade, short, tall ... native phlox does it all.
Have you seen sunny front lawns with beds of lavender flowers in spring? Maybe you have admired the front of a row home garden overflowing with small white and blue flowers? Did a walk along a woodland path reveal swaths of lavender flowers floating just below knee height? Perhaps while visiting a public garden during the height of summer you noticed a cloud of swallowtail butterflies around deep pinky lavender blooms? It's quite possible these were all native phloxes!
This is one versatile and fun native plant. Once you get the right phlox in the right place you can basically set it and forget it, as they say. Little maintenance is required and best of all, these plants all have decently long bloom periods and are readily available at native nurseries and garden centers.
Native phloxes are available as straight species, plants as they occur naturally with no known human interference, and cultivars, plants bred to change an attribute of the plant like the intensity of the flower color. There are also 'selections' of phlox. These are naturally occurring variations found in the wild. Eight different phloxes are native to the U.S. This post focuses on the types you are most likely to find at your nursery or garden center.
Spring Blooming Phlox for Sun
Moss phlox (Phlox subulata) is low growing, aromatic, spreads and does well in full sun and part shade. It grows in a range of soil types and needs watering regularly to get established. Once it establishes, it will slowly spread and typically needs no watering or other maintenance. Moss phlox is also semi-evergreen in warmer parts of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In my experience, moss phlox establishes more quickly in fluffier soils but that is not an absolute requirement.
Moss phlox also grows well in sunny window boxes for a couple of years. The good drainage in window boxes and containers is a plus for moss phlox. These were planted last year. In my window boxes and containers, moss phlox turns brown when dormant but then is very early to green up in spring. These phlox bloomed for over 6 weeks this year.
The straight species of moss phlox typically blooms with lavender or white flowers. There are a number of cultivars available with different shades of lavenders, blues, pinks and whites. Native plant nurseries and garden centers typically carry lots of these plants in spring and early summer.
Design wise, moss phlox works in both formal and informal garden layouts. You can plant it in a straight row, in a drift. or let it grow over a wall. In looks beautiful in spring in any of these settings.
Spring Blooming Phlox for Shade
There are two types of phlox that flower in the spring in shade: woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) and creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera). In its' extensive plant trials, Mt. Cuba found creeping phlox generally easier to grow than woodland phlox. Of the woodland phlox, the straight species was the top plant.
These grow in shade in moister, richer soils and when you have them in the right location, they can spread nicely. They flower on stems a half foot or so above the ground. From experience, these plants do not last very long in compacted, heavier clay soils or in areas than get meaningful sun. These phlox gradually disappeared as the area became sunnier. They really seem to need shade and fluffier soil conditions.
May Breeze (Phlox divaricata "May Breeze') is a commonly available cultivar of the harder to grow woodland phlox. It has a strong and lovely scent. These lasted a few years and at this point I have a lone plant left. Mt. Cuba notes these plants can be susceptible to powdery mildew. I did not notice that but they just generally slowly disappeared. In a shady spot, I'd try again, but with creeping phlox this time, based on Mt. Cuba's recommendation!
Summer Blooming Phlox for Sun
Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) is the phlox of English cottage style gardens in summer yet is native to America. Powdery mildew, a whitish powder that gradually covers foliage, has historically affected these plants. That's what makes the results of Mt. Cuba's plant trials so helpful. Mt. Cuba identified the garden phlox that attract oodles of pollinators and resists the powdery mildew.
Phlox 'Jeana' (Phlox paniculata 'Jeana') is a selection of phlox that was top rated for attracting pollinators in one of the Mt. Cuba Garden Center plant trials. It really does attract the butterflies and makes a great substitute for the invasive butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) if your goal is attracting butterflies to your garden. It blooms in summer in full sun in average to wet soils. Mt. Cuba also notes it has good resistance to powdery mildew. Phlox 'Jeana' is a selection, so a plant found growing out in the wild. It is now commonly available at garden centers, native plant nurseries and on-line. You can read the full report on phlox from Mt. Cuba here. Or for a two page summary with photos go here.
A Thought About Soils:
Since getting the right phlox in the right place is key, I have thought about how to get fluffier, looser soils. One of the maxims about native plants you will often read is there is no need to amend our garden soils because our native plants are naturally adapted to grow in the conditions prevalent in the mid-Atlantic. I have heard many scientists say this. I have also heard scientists say our landscapes have been so substantially altered that the 'native conditions' are not the conditions we are finding in our typical urban and suburban gardens today. The mid-Atlantic was largely a deciduous forest that was once cleared for farming and now has been heavily developed. As a gardener, I followed the no need to amend the soils maxim for awhile. Once I realized I was gardening on a literal fill site in an urban area, I began to add a layer of compost most years.
As a lay person, I really don't know the best approach ecologically. Every garden is so different. If I were inclined to amend my soil, I would do it to create some fluffier conditions for plants like phlox. I wouldn't dig up and loosen the soil because it would bring weed seeds to the surface and possibly destroy existing soil structure. I would identify a shady area and add a compost layer to the ground surface for a couple of years and then try creeping phlox instead of the woodland phlox. And, that's the great thing about gardening, there is always something new to try!
If you are not growing phlox in your garden, here's to hoping you can find a spot for this one!
Happy Gardening.
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