The representative of the North American flora “moss clove” or styloid phlox is a magnificent garden flower, endowed with evergreen foliage, preserved even under the snow, bright colors of flower stars, unpretentiousness, won the hearts of Russian flower growers. The native species is not found in gardens; only artificially bred varieties and hybrids are grown. The compact form of the plant is found in numerous uses in landscape design.
Material Content:
Description, varieties
Ground cover plants of the Phloxsubulate species, belonging to the flowering herbaceous plants of the Phlox genus of the Sinyukhovy family (Polemoniaceae), are perennial, frost-resistant.
Adult plants are a dense "carpet" woven from numerous stems growing up to half a meter in length and up to 20 cm high, densely covered with needle-shaped short up to 2.5 cm opposite leaves, juicy malachite-green color, preserving decorativeness all year round.
During flowering, creeping shoots are densely strewn with tubular medium-sized flowers 1.5-2 cm in diameter, located on one or more peduncles, single or collected in inflorescences. A flat, star-shaped flower corolla is formed by 5 petals of various colors: white, pink, red, blue, purple, two-tone, has a delicate aroma.
Early flowering - May or early June, depending on the variety and region of growth, plentiful (sometimes because of the flowers and leaves are not visible), long - up to 3-4 weeks. Under favorable conditions, bloom repeatedly in September, but less abundantly.
The fibrous root system of the flowers is small, superficial, consisting of short to 5-10 cm subordinate roots, which allows them to grow even on rocky slopes with a small layer of earth and grow widely to the sides.
Due to its structure, the awl-shaped phlox develops the entire area provided to it in a short period of time.
In one place, the awl-shaped phlox can grow up to 5 years without loss of decorativeness.
Popular varieties:
All awl-shaped phlox varieties were bred by foreign breeders. They are distinguished by a shade of colors and care methods.
Popular among Russian gardeners:
- White Delight. Large (up to 2.5 cm) plain white flowers, the plant is unpretentious to the composition and acidity of the soil, blooms twice a season (May-June, August-September);
- Emerald Kushn Blue. Not too growing, compact bush with small about 1.5 cm flowers of a bluish-purple hue. Prefers sandy drained soils;
- Scarlet Flame. Large flower corollas up to 2 cm have a dark pink hue, located 10-15 cm peduncles, although the name of the awl-shaped phlox Scarlet Flame translates as "scarlet radiance." Not a demanding variety, but in drained sunny areas it blooms brighter and more abundant;
- Candy Strips. Two-tone white-pink petals, peduncle height 10 cm, the bush grows to 60 cm in diameter. It is frost-resistant enough.
All varieties and hybrids of the awl-shaped group of creeping phlox species are unpretentious and unusually decorative.
Plant propagation methods
The special structure of the autonomic organs of the awl-shaped phlox contribute to various methods of reproduction.
Division of the bush. In early spring or autumn after flowering, the most favorable breeding time. Short and numerous suction roots allow you to dig it out of the ground and divide it into parts without much damage to the plant. Prepared delenki immediately land in place.
Reproduction by layering. The shoots of the awl-shaped phlox are endowed with knees, pressing the knee to the moist soil and pinning it from the knee, soon, new roots will appear. The rooted shoot is separated from the general bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
Propagation by stem cuttings. Prepare the cuttings to the budding stage. The favorable period is early spring. Cut the shoots with 2-3 internodes, leaving 2-3 cm of the stem under the lower node. Plant the cuttings in a container with moistened soil mixture by sticking it in the sand to the first knot.
Soil composition:
- bottom layer (7 cm) - sand mixed with humus;
- top layer (5 cm) - one sand.
A shank is stuck in the sand without touching the fertile layer. Landings are shaded. A kind of greenhouse is being built. The cuttings are aired daily, watered as the top layer of the soil dries up.
The seeds. Most varieties of phlox produce a large number of seeds. They can multiply and self-seeding. Harvested seeds are sown immediately, because they quickly lose their germination. Usually sown in autumn directly into the soil to a depth of 2 cm. Freezing the soil does not reduce their germination. In spring, the seedlings are planted, like any other seedlings. Flowering of awl-shaped phlox grown from seeds occurs much later than propagated in any other way.
Awl-shaped phlox landing
Due to the unpretentiousness of the flower to the composition of the soil, ease of reproduction, excellent survival, undemanding to specific care, incredible decorativeness makes the plant more and more popular. For greater decorativeness and flowering time, it will still be necessary to observe certain growing conditions.
The soil. The ideal soil for planting is loose, of poor nutritional value, without stagnation of soil water, on the contrary, phlox is drought tolerant. A flower planted in fertile soil will be dense and juicy, but weakly blooming. Too wet soil threatens with fungal diseases, spring soaking of roots is extremely dangerous.
It is also necessary to take care of acidity.Too acidic to be liming, add sand or other baking powder to heavy soils.
Weeds - the scourge of planting awl-shaped phloxes. They must be removed before planting, then when the dense “carpet” grows, weeding out without causing harm to the bush will fail.
Location. Decorative phlox rises in a sunny, elevated place. It is worth considering winter frosts, although it is considered phlox winter-hardy, but a decent snow layer does not hurt.
Landing. There are no special landing recommendations. Given the shallow root growth of only 5-10 cm, make a hole and root the seedling, firmly crushing the ground near the stem. To protect the tender roots from direct sunlight, compost is sprinkled on the ground, it is also a good top dressing.
To create a large area of the "carpet" cuttings are planted at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other. Good survival will allow seedlings to grow and create a solid flowering composition in 1-2 years.
Outdoor Flower Care
The main care consists in fertilizing the bushes with fertilizer. In spring, before flowering, nitrogen-containing ones will be required, the introduction of humus stimulates the growth of new shoots. During flowering and in the middle of summer, complex feeding is used.
Wood ash is an excellent fertilizer for phlox, and pest protection by spraying the green mass, and at the same time as foliar top dressing.
Ash solution:
- Dissolve 300 g of ash in 2 l of water, boil for about 10 minutes;
- cool, strain, dilute the resulting composition with water to 10 liters of solution.
Caution should be exercised in fertilizing phlox - do not overfeed, otherwise flowering will be sparse.
In hot, dry summers, watering is necessary, the regularity depends on the soil - it should dry well.
Experienced gardeners offer to remove faded inflorescences and produce a bush by cutting dry, not aesthetic stems.
After a 5 year stay in one place, phlox is recommended to be rejuvenated by replanting to another place with a revision of the roots, since with age, like all phlox flowers, they lose their decorativeness and can accumulate diseases.
Protection against diseases and pests
All varieties of styloid phlox rarely get sick, but can be affected by powdery mildew, nematodes, caterpillars, slugs and other garden inhabitants and bacteria.
For the prevention of diseases, it is recommended to plant it after perennial lawn grasses, peas, legumes, spicy herbs, marigolds, marigolds and similar plants that repel and catch pests.
It is undesirable to use the land after planting strawberries, as it can be infected with nematode parasites.
From the nematode that infects the stems of the plant, there are no effective chemicals or they are very poisonous. This parasite and its larvae live and hibernate in the renewal buds, roots, weeds and dry plant debris, therefore it is recommended to carefully clean the flower beds and beds in the fall, by manual culling of weak and diseased stems.
Copper preparations, for example, treatment with Bordeaux liquid in early spring and late autumn, are good prophylaxis against spotting, powdery mildew, and other bacterial and fungal infections. If there are signs of a bacterial disease (spotting), immediately remove the affected parts and burn them, treat the bushes with fungicides.
It is necessary to process flowers with immunomodulators: Fitosporin, Zircon, Ecogel, increasing the plant's resistance to infections.
Mandatory processing of planting material (especially imported) by protectants Maxim and Vitaros will be able to prevent many troubles.
Combination with other plants
The awl-shaped phloxes are good in single plantings: the floral splendor of the varieties selected by shade makes a nice looking combination, but also look good in the form of a “patchwork quilt”.
They are also good in the form of color accents, for example, planted in an old stump or in a crevice of a stone wall.
Phloxes are combined with all spring flowers, other soil protectors, snapdragons, stonecrops.
Given the decorative emerald green dense plexus of stems, phlox can serve as a good shelter from overheating of the roots and desiccation of the soil, such as clematis or lilies. Bright flower lights fill the free space between daylilies and similar single flowers.
Near the conifers, awl-shaped phloxes are simply irresistible.
Awl-shaped phlox in landscape design
Phlox awl-shaped for landscape designers - this is a godsend. The velvetiness of the groundcover is aesthetic even after flowering; it is used by florists in various variations.
Indispensable plant in rock gardens, rocky gardens, microborders, for the design of gardens in various styles.
The planted bushes along the paths are also practical in nature, do not allow the ground to crawl onto the surface, creating an original border.
In flowerpots, phlox takes an ampel shape and can be used to decorate balconies and terraces.
Flower pillows will create a bright accent on the spring lawn.
Growing different varieties and colors allows you to decorate the site, with a minimum of effort and giving free rein to the imagination.
