With proper and caring care, you can grow chic phloxes with huge caps of flowers on the flowerbed. Translated from the Greek language, the name of the plant means "flame", it was given to the flowers for their bright color.
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Phlox: types and descriptions
Phlox is a herbaceous plant from the family Sinyukhovye includes 85 species, of which 40 are grown in ornamental gardening. Most phlox species are perennials, but annuals are also found.
Annual phlox
Drummond phlox belongs to annuals. This is a herbaceous plant up to 50 cm high, with pubescent stems. It does not form creeping shoots, propagated by seeds. It prefers fertile, loose soil, can grow both in the sun and in partial shade, tolerates frost well, loves plentiful watering.
Many varieties are developed that differ in color, shape and size of the corolla:
- pale cream Isabella and Cream Brulee;
- terry pink "Strawberry with cream" and "Chanel";
- purple “SugarStars”, “Blue Rime”;
- large-flowered Tetra Risen and Grandiflora;
- star-shaped "Star Lace" and "Milky Way".
On sale there are mixtures of seeds with simple flowers - “Melange” (pink), “Fantasy” (blue), “Button Mix” (various colors).Annuals bloom very luxuriantly and for a long time.
Perennial flowers
In the flower beds, you can often find perennial phlox paniculata. The height of the bush of various varieties from 60 cm to 1 meter. Perennial phlox is divided into groups according to flowering dates. There are early flowering, medium and late flowering plants.
Early phlox varieties begin to bloom in mid-June.
Here are some of them:
- "Zhukovsky" - blooms with a blue cloud of flowers, has a peculiar pleasant smell;
- “Little Bear” - the petals are alternately colored in white and pink;
- Chio-chio-san is a bright pink phlox.
In mid-July, mass flowering begins. Later phlox varieties bloom in August and September. Many varieties begin a second wave of flowering at the end of summer.
Late phloxes include the following varieties:
- "Vladimir" - with pale pink flowers;
- "Margarita" - bright scarlet flowers;
- "Muscovite" - dense inflorescences of pink flowers;
- “Cool Water” - white and pink flowers are gathered in one inflorescence;
- "Hesperis" - small bright purple flowers, tall.
The timing of flowering is also affected by the place of planting and the condition of the plant, so they sometimes do not meet the expected ones. Groundcover phloxes are also found, for example, the awl-shaped Phlox.
Phlox reproduction methods
Panic phlox has an interesting feature; a new bush can form from any part of the plant. In addition to seeds, for growing seedlings, cuttings, cuttings, and parts of the rhizome are used.
Growing phlox from seeds
Growing from seeds is carried out before winter. They level the earth, and put marks, lay the seeds on frozen soil, cover them with dry earth, and in the spring they wait for seedlings.
You can collect the seeds yourself. When the seed boxes turn brown, they are cut so that they do not open on their own, and left for winter sowing in October or November.
If the seeds are bought in a store, they can be planted in seedlings in plastic containers. They are sown in universal moist soil, covered with a transparent cover, and placed in a cold place under snow or under a spanbond. In spring, the containers are opened, and after natural stratification, the seeds give amicable shoots.
Propagation by cuttings
Phlox can be propagated by stem, leaf and root cuttings. Phlox is cut in the early summer, when its green part grows, but there are still no flowers. You can do this also in spring and autumn.
For stem cuttings, the stem is cut, cut into pieces of about 15 cm. Then they are stuck in moist soil at an angle of 45 degrees, breaking off the lower leaves. Cover with covering material so that the soil does not dry out. You can plant the cuttings in containers or directly in the open ground. The roots should appear after 2 or 3 weeks, after which young shoots will begin to grow in the axils of the leaves.
For rooting leafy cuttings, the best time is the first decade of July. A leaf with a axillary bud and a thin piece of the stem is cut from the stem of the plant. Rooted cuttings in nutritious loose soil, pouring on top of 1.5 cm of sand. A piece of the stem and the kidney should be in the soil, and the leaf on the surface. The box with the handle is covered with a film or glass, the soil is moistened daily with a spray bottle and aerated. Rooting should occur in about a month.
Bush dividing method
It is believed that phlox can be divided 1 time in 4 or 5 years. But it all depends on the plant variety and agricultural technology of its cultivation. The rhizome can be divided when it has grown enough.
They dig a flower in early September or April, divide the rhizome with a clean knife or a sharp shovel, and plant the resulting plants in their intended places. Slices of rhizomes are preferably sprinkled with activated charcoal.
Propagation by layering
There is nothing complicated in breeding phlox by layering.Bushes are covered with fertile soil. On stems after 2 weeks, the roots will begin to grow. When they develop well, gently release layering from the ground, cut it and plant it in the ground.
Outdoor landing
In order to please the result of planting in the near future, you need to buy healthy, high-quality seedlings. In addition, it is important to plan the landing pattern, and know its exact time. The best for planting are considered cuttings of the second year of cultivation with 2 or 3 stems. They are bought in nurseries or from famous gardeners.
If you bought phlox seedlings for planting in the fall, break off all the peduncles so that the plants take root and gain strength before winter, then powerful bushes will grow in the spring. If the planting material is in a container, it can wait to be planted in open ground, seedlings with an open root system are planted immediately.
Planting deadlines
Phlox can be planted in spring, summer and autumn. The best time for spring planting is the second half of April. Phloxes are well rooted, but can bloom a little later than expected.
Bushes take root, and winter well in open ground. The first two weeks after planting, they must be watered 1 time in 4 days. Before the onset of cold weather, the bushes are cut off and insulated with mulch.
At phlox planted in the summer, flower stalks are cut, shaded from the bright sun, watered and sprayed. It can be used for summer planting "Kornevin" so that the plants better take root.
Site and soil preparation
For successful breeding and long flowering, the site for planting phlox must be prepared in advance. Sandy or loamy soil with minimal acidity is best suited for the plant. It is enriched with organic and mineral fertilizers, ashes are introduced.
The flowers have a long root system, so the holes are dug to a depth of 30 cm. If there is a lot of clay in the soil, coarse-grained sand, low-lying peat and compost are added to it. Well-rotted compost or manure is mixed into the sandy soil. Mineral fertilizer is used complex, introducing it according to the instructions on the package.
Features of phlox planting
The depth of phlox planting should be about 25-30 cm. It is advisable to put complex mineral fertilizer for flowers on the bottom of the hole, mixing it with the soil. Then plant a rooted cuttings or sapling.
The distance between the bushes of low-growing varieties during planting can withstand about 40 cm against each other, in medium-sized - up to 50 cm, in tall - up to 60 cm.
Outdoor phlox care
When caring for a plant, one must take into account its natural conditions of existence and predisposition. Phloxes are native to North America. They grow on moist soils rich in organic matter.
Decorative phloxes also love moisture; watering and spraying are useful for them. But the water should not stagnate at the roots, when planting flowers add sand to the ground so that it becomes more loose. In addition to regular watering, it is necessary to do weeding and top dressing.
How to water phlox
Phloxes suffer a lack of moisture painfully - they lose leaves, grow poorly. Flowers become small, and quickly fade.
For 1 square meter of area with phlox, about 2 buckets of water are required. Watering is done in the morning or in the evening. You can not water the flowers with cold water on hot days, their stems may crack.
Phlox loves spraying water on leaves, but if one plant is infected with a fungal disease, others can get sick. Therefore, it is better to water under the root. To keep moisture in the soil longer, it is mulched.
Soil loosening
If plantings with phloxes do not mulch after watering, the soil must be loosened.Thanks to loosening, a dense crust does not form on the surface of the earth, which impedes the flow of air to the roots.
Loosening the soil must be done carefully, since the roots of the plant grow upward and on the periphery, over time they appear almost on the surface. During loosening, all weeds that threaten the health of phlox are removed.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
In the fall, after freezing, flower beds with phlox can be mulched with a thick layer of rotted compost or manure. Add ash and complex fertilizers under this layer. This is done in mid-October, so that the plant begins to consume nutrients not in the autumn, but in the spring, when the ground thaws.
The same procedure can be repeated before flowering. Add ash, complex fertilizers (Ferika, Kemira) and organic layer under phlox. In the spring, phlox needs nitrogen, which they can get from rotted manure and compost or urea.
How to prune phlox after flowering
After flowering, for the winter, cut stems with leaves at ground level. If you leave small stumps of stems, pathogens of various diseases and harmful insects successfully wintered on them.
Pruning is carried out around the second decade of October, when there will be steady cold weather. The base of the bush after pruning is preferably treated with a solution of any fungicide from diseases, and mulched.
Shelter for the winter
Perennial phlox shelter in the first year of cultivation, pouring on top of dry leaves or coniferous litter. Adult phlox is unpretentious and frost-resistant, they tolerate frosts more easily, but it is also desirable to cover them with a layer of mulch. Especially hardy are plants grown from seeds on their own.
Pest and Disease Control
Phloxes are hardy - they rarely get sick. The main reason for the poor health of flowers is the lack of nutrients in the soil. The last top dressing is introduced along with the mulch along the frozen ground.
If signs of fungal diseases appear, spray on the leaves with any fungicide containing copper, for example, Hom.
Weakened plants are most often affected by insects. On phlox, aphids, nematodes, thrips and other pests can parasitize. When they are detected, double spraying with Confidor, Aktara or other insecticides will be effective.
Phlox in landscape design
It is advisable to choose phloxes for planting with different colors of flowers, so that the flower garden looks beautiful. Among the various bright colors, there must be white flowers. They will create a special contrast on the flower bed, which will help to perceive bright raspberry, red and purple flowers.
For planting flowers, you can choose partial shade, but their flowering will be better and brighter on a sunny flowerbed. Phloxes are beautifully combined in the flowerbed with lilies and daylilies, contrasting in color.
