Perennial phlox: planting and care, photos

Today's gardening topic is perennial phlox: planting and care, photos of the most beautiful specimens. When gardeners create flowerbeds and lawns on their property, they try to select flowers that vary in color, bloom time, bush height, etc., to create a beauty that complements each other and ensures a flowering process from early summer until late fall. Phlox are perfect for this purpose. Firstly, they are beautiful, come in a wide variety of colors, and many grow almost two meters tall, making them a stunning addition to any garden.

With proper care, they bloom in a variety of vibrant colors, and if you plant the right varieties, they'll bloom from June until frost. Furthermore, phlox are perennial flowers, which is their second undeniable advantage—they don't require running to the store every year, buying seeds, and replanting everything. If you have several phlox varieties in your garden, you can admire them for 5-6 years alone, then rejuvenate the bushes, replant them, and create new arrangements again. In short, phlox cultivation can become a true hobby, delighting the gardener and making your neighbors envious.
If you are growing a vegetable garden in your garden, you might be interested in: Why is garlic turning yellow in the garden? What should I do?.

What you need to know about phlox

To grow this beautiful and delicate wonder, you need to know some of the nuances of caring for it, which will help you grow truly beautiful flowers that will decorate your plot.

• Phlox love light and moisture, but in moderation - areas that are too exposed to light and heat and too much moisture will lead to root rot and a decline in flowering.
• If your weather is too damp, your phlox may be susceptible to powdery mildew. To prevent this, spray the flowers with copper sulfate.
• Before planting phlox, be sure to thoroughly fertilize the soil—they won't thrive in poor soil. Add peat, ash, and compost, dig in, moisten, and then plant your phlox—they'll love this soil, and they'll thrive, delighting you with their blooms.
• Phloxes are propagated by seeds, cuttings and, actually, by dividing the bush after a certain age.
• You cannot fertilize using liquid manure.
• You can't water with ice water.
• You need to fertilize regularly if you want beautiful flowering.

See also: How to grow cosmos from seeds.

When to plant phlox

Now let's take a closer look at when you can plant phlox and how to get this heavenly beauty on your property.
Phlox are best planted in April, when they'll have a good chance of establishing roots over the summer and won't be affected by winter frosts. If you plan to repot in the fall, try to do it before October, mulch the plants well, and cover them with a blanket of fallen leaves for the winter. Then, from early spring, you'll see buds awakening, stems growing, and the plant preparing to grow at its full potential.

Methods of reproduction

You can, of course, sow phlox from seeds. But this is a more time-consuming process, with unpredictable results, as the seeds are often poor quality and fail to germinate, and you can waste a lot of time waiting for beautiful phlox to grow. Faster methods include propagation by cuttings, and if you have a bush of the appropriate age (at least three years old), by division. You can also rejuvenate the bush and replant the phlox at the same time: cut off a section of the bush with a sharp shovel and fill the vacated space with fertile soil. This way, you'll have the opportunity to plant another bush and rejuvenate the old one, breathing new life into it. Generally, after five, maximum six years, the bushes should be relocated, otherwise their flowers will become smaller and fade.

Interesting article – planting and caring for lilies.

Propagation by dividing the bush

This method is best used in the fall, from about August 15th to mid-September. The propagation buds have already formed in the bushes, and the plants will survive transplanting well and establish themselves well until frost. For this method, you need a bush that's at least three years old—if you find one, you'll be delighted with beautiful blooms by early next summer. Dig up the bush, shake off excess soil, cut the stems back to half their height, divide the rhizome into several pieces, and plant immediately.

Propagation by cuttings

If you don't have a three-year-old bush, cuttings are an excellent method, as they have a good survival rate. However, this should be done around June, when the shoots are growing vigorously, providing ample ground for cuttings. On a cloudy day or in the evening, when the sun is no longer hot, approach the bush, select tender, non-woody parts of the shoots, cut them, and divide them into sections, ensuring each cutting has at least two nodes with leaves for planting.

Plant either in peat pellets or in good, fertile soil, kept as moist as possible. Plant the cuttings deep, up to the top node, protect them from the sun, and water them well daily, 2-3 times for the first 2-3 weeks, to encourage root growth. You can also use Kornevin, which is guaranteed to help the roots grow and take root. They'll start growing in the spring, and with the arrival of summer, they'll bloom, delighting your eyes with their beauty and delighting your soul. Happy planting and a beautiful garden!