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aftermidnight_gw

Phlox paniculata

I know not favorites with some but I really like them :). I want to add a few more to the garden, so pictures please.
I have 'Mt. Fujiyama', 'Blue Paradise' (we think) and 'Purple Kiss', I did have more but over the years as I changed my garden beds around they were given away, it seems I have come full circle and want to add more, nice punches of color this time of year.
Here's my latest addition, Yes I know I thought I was finished buying for the summer but honestly I just went to buy a little plant of Greek Oregano and saw this :). I took a picture of the flower before cutting it back.
'Red Caribbean' who said pink and red don't look good together I think this one is a beauty.
Annette

This post was edited by aftermidnight on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 1:26

Comments (83)

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Rouge don't tempt me :) It wouldn't take much LOL. I did this a few years back with Michaelmas Daisies, still one of my favorite flowers. I ordered some root cuttings from Paul Picton in the UK early spring. From tiny root cuttings I had a beautiful Michaelmas Daisy border come september.

    Annette

  • linlily
    9 years ago

    I have been looking locally but have not been able to pick up any Red Phlox until this year, when I found Red Flame. It is a pretty bright red but right now is much taller than the 15 to 18 inches indicated on the tag.

    Linda

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    Anyone have experience with "Peacock Cherry Red?"

    I was at a nursery today and it appeared to be more red than "Red Flame".

  • monarda_gw
    9 years ago

    I love phlox, and it's a native plant, too.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Think three of the showiest summer perennial blooms here are garden phlox, daylilies and helenium.

    The daylilies are almost over and most of the heleniums are just beginning, but the garden phlox are still going strong.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    That picture is a keeper SB. The variety of colors is very impressive.

    (When you have a moment take an on-line look at PEACOCK "Cherry Red" Phlox....in person it looked more red than any other phlox I have seen.)

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Thanks Rouge.

    Did.
    There's a Peacock series of garden phlox.
    What nursery?

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    SB, do you know of the "PEACOCK" series of phlox?

    (I did purchase "Cherry Red" and will plant it sometime in September or October when I plan to do some rearranging of existing perennials).

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    No Rouge.
    Followed up your entry.

    But too many garden phlox series?
    Once upon a time, there were 800 named garden phlox varieties; mostly now lost.

    Still I'd rather not think of garden phlox as "collectables" (?), but rather as key contributors to the overall beauty of whole sunny perennial gardens in summer.

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    Lovely displays on this thread.

    Kato, please tell me what the large leaved plant is next to your Nora
    Leigh.

    Went looking for Shockwave today as had a birthday gift certificate at local nursery. Sadly not there. Saw a couple of mammoth mums though didn't buy the Yellow Quill which I really like but never survives the winter for me. Maybe I will go back for it another day.

    My phlox are all blooming, David, Starfire, Laura, a pale pink, a medium pink and a very dark pink.and a dark pinkish purple. Wonderful fragrance.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    9 years ago

    Wow Sunny, that last picture is exceptional! Thanks for sharing and also thanks for the starfire comparison, sorry I didn't thank you sooner! I think I'll just call my phlox "not starfire" to keep it simple.... but I did almost buy 'Lord Clayton' last week just to compare (and because it looked tempting... except for the mildew)

    Rouge- I was looking at a bed full of sunflowers and dahlias and thought to myself how nice it might look filled with phlox! Bad thoughts**

    mnwsgal- the foliage plant next to Nora leigh is a hardy fig struggling to recover from last winter. I never give it the care it needs to get figs, but I love the leaves. My early phlox are over here, I forget there are other zones.... glad to hear yours are coming on nice now! fyi- out of the mammoth mums I planted, yellowquill seems less vigorous, so I don't think it has anything to do with you.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Kato.

    One more.
    Today:

  • southerngardening24
    9 years ago

    just beautiful!

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh my, what eye candy. A truly magnificent border.

    Annette

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    9 years ago

    I can almost smell them!

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    9 years ago

    SunnyBorders ... that is one amazing photo :)

    Please tell me the name of the tall light blue phlox at the very top of the photo, it's gorgeous!

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    SB, that photo might be the most impressive picture posted in 2014 in this forum...outstanding.

    You clearly are a Phlox paniculata aficionado.

    Maybe when you have time (or maybe it would be better as a dedicated thread) you could give us your top 5 Phlox P.

    This post was edited by rouge21 on Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 14:16

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I don't know when I have enjoyed a thread more, thanks guys :).
    I'm redoing a couple of my flower beds, hope to have them ready for planting next spring, in the meantime my pot ghetto is growing LOL.
    I definitely want to add more Phlox so I'll be on the hunt for some of the ones I've seen in this thread.
    Not to many mail order sources in Canada that I know of that carry a lot of the different varieties, it's a pick one up here, another one there.
    In the spring the garden centers do carry some of them on the racks but I prefer to buy them in gallon pots if possible, actually see what I'm getting.

    Charlie would you mind listing the variety names you have in your border?

    Annette

  • lesmc
    9 years ago

    I keep coming to this thread and just am amazed at the beauty of these pictures. I have had nothing but problems with my phlox and have now removed all. I would like to begin again next spring with new varieties that might be better suited for backyard gardens. It looks like the phlox is closely planted and I love the look. Yet, no disease issues. That is encouraging. Just love these pictures. Thanks to all. Lesley

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Thanks.

    I will Rouge, Annette.
    Have taken stock of the garden phlox as they came into bloom this year, but need to check a bit more.

    Twrosz, I took the picture late in the day, trying to accommodate other colours on my camera. That tall phlox (much of it over 4 foot tall) is a bluish pink, I'd say it's a very pretty mauve. For colour comparison, that purple phlox is 'Purple Flame'.

    That mauve one is one of a few tall old No Name garden phlox, purchased over ten years ago, at the local horticultural society plant sale. As all likely know, the more recent phlox are typically shorter and also patented; latter presumably eliminates a horticultural society sale source for those phlox.

    As others have noted, having some tall garden phlox adds a lot to a summer border.

    Further to Lesley's post, things don't always go as intended. We don't normally have much of a powdery mildew problem with our garden phlox. I'm pretty hands-on in thinning things out and especially in promptly getting plants cut back (after flowering) and eliminating plant debris from the flower beds. This, however, has been an odd year here weatherwise (late cold spring, then needing to water, then too much rain; currently is unseasonably cold). Consequently I'm finding a fair bit of powdery mildew on phlox cultivars (in some locations), even though those cultivars are generally mildew resistant.

    I'm now being forced to cut back some stems of phlox which still have good flower displays and have just started stripping off leaves from some stems in order to allow the blooming to keep on going. Don't want to leave leaves infested with the mildew lying on the soil surface.

    Charlie

  • bluerose007
    9 years ago

    Here is Norah Leigh. Best variegated phlox without any mildew.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    That is wonderful specimen 'bluerose'.

    I find Shockwave to be more vigorous than NL and still also has very little mildew (picture shown earlier in this thread).

    And of course personally speaking I think the flower colour for Shockwave blends better with the variegated foliage than is the case for NL. (But I am not really sure what colour would be best with such variegation for any perennial!)

    I am though surprised how late in the season it is before Shockwave is in bloom. Even now with the plants in full sun it isnt even close to flowering.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Lovely pictures.

    Annette, Rouge, still thinking about it!

    Re Kato's, Bluerose's and Rouge's pictures and comments on variegated garden phlox:

    I have over 20 years experience with 'Nora Leigh', two with 'Shockwave' and one with 'Harlequin'; so I know much more about 'Nora Leigh'.

    I garden for flower colour, but I'm almost thinking of saying that 'Nora Leigh' is the single best garden phlox of all. Last year, its foliage made it one of the last perennials still looking very attractive in our garden in mid-October. All other garden phlox had been cut back long before.

    I personally (as Rouge appropriately notes) prefer the foliage of 'Nora Leigh' to that of 'Shockwave'; namely, there's a real contrast between the green and clear white (not somewhat yellowish or yellowish green).

    This year has been a terrible year for garden phlox here (with alternating periods of dry and wet, hot and cold and sunny and overcast). I'm currently dealing (manually) with more powdery mildew on the phlox than I've ever seen.

    I'm seeing very little or no evidence of powdery mildew on the five 'Nora Leigh' we have, while I'm fighting powdery mildew on numbers of supposed powdery-mildew-resistant recent phlox cultivars. It's quite definite that the presence of the mildew is associated with the particular location of individual plants in our garden. One 'Shockwave' has some mildew (was hard to see at first) and three have very little or none.

    I like the fact that 'Nora Leigh' is a larger and more gracefully shaped (?) plant than 'Shockwave', though of course, the availability of space may be issue. Presumably this comes back to recent/current selection for smaller, more compact cultivars that don't need staking.

    Re 'Nora Leigh', I don't think I've ever once had to stake it.

    Picture (August 28, 2011) from a perennial garden I planted and maintained.

    This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 12:07

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    Annette, Rouge, still thinking about it!

    Maybe you (and others of course) can include as a worthwhile statistic the start of flowering.

    For example "Shockwave" is very late in showing flowers (for sure compensated by its wonderful standalone foliage). In my zone it will start blooming in late August.

    What are some earlier flowering phlox?

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Can't be much help on this as I really haven't kept track. 'Blue Paradise' and 'Mt. Fugi' are still going strong, 'Purple Kiss' is finished, these are the only ones I still had until lately, the rest are still in pots waiting to be planted this fall when I redo a couple of beds. I just picked up a nice little 4" pot of 'Swizzle' for .49 off a clearing out table. The others still in pots are 'Nicky', 'Peppermint Twist', 'Red Caraibbean', 'David' and 'Tequilla Sunrise' all bought for 40% off with the exception of R. P. paid 9.99 for it.

    Annette

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Don't generally think "worthwhile" is possible, Rouge.

    And that is for two reasons; (1) we only have one or two of many of the cultivars and (2) I notice a fair bit of variability when we have more of a particular cultivar.

    To the latter point, we have 8 'Peppermint Twist'. The one in the most shaded location started blooming at least two weeks after others did.

    More incongruous to me: we have one 'Robert Poore', which has finished blooming. Two years ago I noticed a seedling in front of it which I left. Now I'm sure that it is also 'Robert Poore'. Currently it's in full flower. I'm sure it's in a sunnier location than the parent plant, so perhaps the reason for its later blooming is that it's a younger plant.

    I would go as far as saying 'Nora Leigh' (have 6) is a later bloomer here, though we grow it for the long-lived mildew resistant foliage. Have 5 'Shockwave' (most obtained more recently). With 'Shockwave' our experience is the same as Rouge's; it's also a later bloomer.

    Our one 'Harlequin' (got it last year) hasn't done much this year, but it would be interesting to know if variegated phlox generally are later bloomers the non-variegated forms.

    Variegated perennials are understandably, in general, better behaved/tamer/less vigorous than non-variegated forms. Perhaps they're also slower to start blooming.

    The one other cultivar I'd be confident to say is later blooming and it's planted in various locations in our garden is 'Starfire' (have 6). We currently have phlox-red dotted over our garden, which was certainly not the case in July or early August.

    An added point is that phlox purchased here in pots, this year, flower earlier than those already in the ground from previous years. The reason is likely that they were grown south of here (maybe in the Carolinas) and then brought north for sale as larger plants.

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    9 years ago

    'Harlequin' is a beauty for both foliage and flower color, though it takes time for the plant to bulk up and variegation is slow to develop in the spring, though it all comes together very nicely later in the season. This phlox isn't so easy to come by in Canada, I've been searching for a replacement since I had lost mine after moving :(

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Lovely Twrosz.

    Didn't realize mine could look like that.

    I can thank Rouge for putting me in touch with 'Harlequin'.

    Hope you get another soon.

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    9 years ago

    SunnyBorders, I'll have to give 'Nora Leigh' another try after seeing your amazing photos!

    When it comes to variegation and bloom color, I love 'Becky Towe'. I guess we all like different things, as I recall reading on this forum that some had considered the color to be garish shade of pink, it's difficult to capture with my camera, though to my eye it's a gorgeous smooth shade of pink / salmon / coral with a bright pink eye.

    'Becky Towe'

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Twrosz, lovely picture.

    I've had several 'Becky Towe' in the past. For me, its flower colour is much prettier than that of 'Nora Leigh', but the plants died away.

    I'm also enthusiastic about the pink-salmon-coral that's around with a number of the newer phlox cultivars.

    What I'd say for 'Nora Leigh' is that it has so much going for it (at least in my experience): it's hardy: long-lived: the plant has a nice overall shape (relatively tall, but still compact - has graceful proportions): retains its shape and leaf colour-contrast well into October and is as mildew resistant as garden phlox come.

    I definitely garden for flower colour, but 'Nora Leigh' is just too good for any such bias!

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    9 years ago

    I need to go out and give Becky a pep talk, she's barely hanging on and not even close to putting on as nice a show as that!
    Also Harlequin is looking great, I would love that bloom even on a green leafed plant, though the combo sure is bold.
    Rouge my earliest phlox are "Nicky" and "Bright Eyes" followed by "Laura".

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    9 years ago

    SunnyBorders, my nearby greenhouse had 'Nora Leigh' available earlier in the season, so I'll soon go check the place out again.

    kato_b ... yes, 'Nicky', 'Bright Eyes' and 'Laura' are all very good plants!

    'Becky Towe' has always thrived from me, maybe it just prefers somewhat cooler summer conditions? I do divide it every three years or strike cuttings directly into the ground. This photos shows just how beautiful the plant can be and the blooms keep coming over a long period of time.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I need a bigger garden:). Thanks all for showing your beautiful phlox, I've been adding to my...must look for list.

    We went down island to my favorite nursery on friday. They have a huge perennial section and this time of year it's a riot of color. Needless to say I didn't come empty handed, no phlox tho, I had all the ones they had left.

    Twrosz, 'Becky Towe' is gorgeous I've never seen it for sale around here. Do you know of a good mail order source for it and others here in Canada?

    I'm bookmarking this thread, it's going to make a great reference so if anyone has pictures of phlox not already shown please add them now or later, thanks.

    Annette

  • north53 Z2b MB
    9 years ago

    I would also like to thank twrosz for all the pictures. I hope to try more varieties in my garden as a result. I may find something hardy enough for me.

  • lilsprout
    9 years ago

    I would post my pics but after SB steals the show with all her LOVELY phlox...mine are not worth showing lol.

    SB...you get 1st place award...HANDS DOWN!!!

    Always love seeing your pics, thanks!

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Lilsprout.

    I'd say there's a lot of great pictures above, from numbers of folk and please post more, whether individual plants (always interesting) or plants massed.

    I think garden phlox, where we live, can make anyones gardening look good. I'm also fortunate to have few obligations to take me away from the garden.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Have now identified all the garden phlox in the garden this summer; namely 35 different cultivars and 10 older No Names.

    Although I can locate all garden phlox by bed in our small garden, it's probably more helpful to mention those cultivars (we've had for more than two years) which I feel have done particularly well for our garden or, in a few cases, I suspect are going to do the same in the future.

    White: 'Pina Colada' and taller 'David'.

    Purple: Düsterlohe (Nicky), 'Purple Flame' and 'Wendy House' and with more white in the flower 'Purple Kiss', 'Laura' and 'Little Laura'.

    Pink: 'Cosmopolitan' (strong pink), 'Bright Eyes' (light with dark centre) and 'Shortwood' (for height).

    Pink-salmon-coral: 'Watermelon Punch', 'Tequila Sunrise', 'Glamour Girl' and 'Coral Flame'.

    Red and orange: 'Starfire', 'Orange Perfection' and 'Candy Floss'. 'Candy Floss' also appears as reversions with individual stems of 'Peppermint Twist'.

    Violet-lavender: 'David's Lavender'.

    Pinwheel: 'Peppermint Twist' and 'Twister'.

    Our phlox display would not be so nice if not for the inclusion of old No Names purchased over ten years ago at the local horticultural society plant sales.

    If I had to pick the three most useful, it would be the tall mauve, the tall purplish pink and the one I call My Pink, in the picture below. My Pink is very vigorous, quite mildew resistant and gives lovely blocks of colour which last a long time.

    Forgot to include variegated 'Nora Leigh' for it's very attractive long-lasting shape and foliage.

    Picture below: today.

    This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Thu, Aug 28, 14 at 20:41

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    9 years ago

    'My Pink" looks awesome! I like the white star in the center. Was this one of the garden club plants or a seedling that appeared?
    I have a few putting on a second show, but mildew has definitely taken hold this year like never before.... I'm not going to bother trying to control it though. I'm interested to see if it will repeat next year since this is the first time I've had a mildew problem.
    Wish me luck :)

    I picked this handful earlier in the week. They're all late blooming, unnamed seedlings which I found coming up here and there and left for one reason or another. I like them.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    SB, thanks for taking the time to list your Phlox, an impressive list. If I can manage to find even a few of them I'll be a happy camper :).

    Right now I'm really enjoying the temperature sensitive 'Blue Paradise' especially early morning when it's a little cooler. It's a little late this year but next year I'll have to fire up my cloning machine and take some cuttings. I've used this for fuchsias and michaelmas daisies with great results, should be great for phlox too.

    Annette

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Very pretty handful, Kato.
    For me, pink is the single most useful garden phlox colour.

    My Pink was purchased at the local horticultural sale.

    I don't keep any phlox seedlings (big on deadheading) of plants that seed. I have read that phlox seedlings tend to revert back to the " wishy-washy pink" of the species in the wild. Observed that myself with 'White Admiral'.

    Re "luck", I do Kato.
    However, I'm beginning to think powdery mildew on garden phlox perhaps runs in cycles. The Chicago Botanic Garden study found that 2004 was by far the worst year for the mildew (the study ran from 2001 to 2009).

    This is the worst year I can remember for our garden and you indicate the same for your phlox.

    My ultimate personal reaction to mildew is to not let it overwinter in plant debris in the garden.

    Would like to think it's useful, Annette, but we naturally tend to "push" the perennials we know, albeit those that have done well for us.

    I'm going to try 'Blue Paradise' again. Thought it was very attractive. It's interesting how some garden phlox just take off in ones garden (e.g. for us 'Peppermint Twist' and My Pink, while others have nowhere near as strong growth (e.g. for us 'Blue Boy' and 'Red Riding Hood'). Likely the precise locations in which they were planted has been a contributing factor.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Rouge, Sunnyborders, your borders look so full and lush, when initially planting what spacing do you use? Do you plant fairly close together and then remove some of the plants as they fill in or do you space them out. Rule of thumb, how much space do you leave between individual plants? I've done it both ways, just curious to which way you think best.

    Annette

  • dbarron
    9 years ago

    twrosz, your combo with the salmon phlox and the rudbeckias is stunning.

    I normally feel variegated plants look diseased...but I didn't even notice it in your shot at first! That's a compliment.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Besides spring, Annette, I plant for summer and fall herbaceous perennials and usually avoid woody ones (e.g. shrubs).

    Some of what I plant doesn't like being disturbed, e.g. balloon flowers and peonies. Most of it, however, does much better if it's periodically reduced (and moved) and replanted with new organic soil.

    Consequently I feel free to plant closely. You could plant a perennial bed with the plants three foot away from each other and it would look great in three years time. Personally, I want the effect quickly, as most people do.

    With my close planting, it's necessary to avoid seeders and especially runners, which usually means avoiding the species (and paying more for well behaved cultivars).

    I reduce and move around plants probably a lot, as required with close spacing. With some perennials (e.g garden phlox), it doesn't seem to matter when they are divided as long as watering is covered. For instance, this year my one phlox 'Twister' seemed to be not getting enough sun by the time it started to flower, so I moved it to a better location (watched watering) and it's fine.

    Needless-to-say, (1) this works well for our growing conditions and (2) I'm basically retired and have a lot to time available for gardening.

    Re variegated perennials: I never liked variegated perennials either, but I'm now a convert. Many perennials only bloom for two or three weeks and so variegated ones really add some variation to a mixed perennial bed. The other thing that really appeals to me is the fact that variegated perennials may be less vigourous (= tamer) than the non-variegated forms ( e.g. with yellow loosestrife or obedient plant cultivars).

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    SB, thanks for sharing your method of planting, I pretty much plant the same way you do, to get that full look I usually plant pretty close together and move some when they get crowded or...sometimes it's like musical chairs until I get it right LOL..

    Annette

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    Such valuable information SB. Thank you so much for organizing it all.

    That is a gorgeous picture 'kato'...crystal clear and so many shades of pink..incredible.

    "Becky Towe's" flower color stands out in striking contrast to the variegated foliage. Thanks for this picture ' twrosz'.

    Slowly my stand of "Shockwave" is coming into bloom with the flowers a light mauve. But it won't be for a couple of weeks before it is in full bloom...very late I am thinking.

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    9 years ago

    aftermidnight, I've come across 'Becky Towe' being rather widely available in several greenhouses in Alberta, though had received mine years ago from Dominion. I hope you can soon come across it :)

    north53, thanks for the complement, here's to hoping you'll be able to winter some very nice phlox varieties for yourself. I've been very impressed with photos of your very lush and vigorous plantings!

    dbarron, yes, the photo with the rudbeckias did turn out rather nice! I've always loved variegated plants, well it rather does depend on the type, as some can indeed look rather sickly.

    kato_b, those are all beautiful seedlings !!

    rouge, 'BT' is one of my all time favorite perennials!

    SunnyBorders, your photos are exceptional and plants so lovely, I'm a bit jealous!


  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    I picked up a Becky Towe on sale yesterday. Only got one as the other plant left had part that reverted back to all green. Now to chose a place to plant it in my garden. Bloom is lighter and more coral than I was expecting.

    This post was edited by mnwsgal on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 15:08

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    9 years ago

    Compare previously posted "Becky Towes" and "Harlequin" with "Shockwave" which is finally coming into bloom. (Love seeing the differences in bloom color among the 3).

    {{gwi:261629}}

    This post was edited by rouge21 on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 19:27

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Nice picture, Rouge.

    Interesting comparison.

  • catkin
    9 years ago

    That's a beauty, rouge! My Nora reverted years ago but I still like her bloom! I've never seen the other variegated forms!