The previous owner of our house was an avid gardener and I'm truly enjoying this new hobby. I have so far listened closely to Maryanne's suggestions and have added mushroom compost and cedar mulch. Things have been going well (thanks Maryanne :))
Question, I have a nice creeping variety of Phlox and also a much taller, stalk like type of Phlox. THey are quite tall (3 feet) and they look and smell lovely. Will they last all summer?They are starting to lose their flowers, will they grow back. Also, since they are tall, some have fallen over (quite a few). Are these the type of flowers who benefit from a cage? I'll try to remember to post a picture in the day light.
Thanks
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what kind of phlox you have, jag. I am here in Ottawa too, and my hybrid phlox have not bloomed yet, but the wilder ones (also tall, and mostly limited colour range to pink and mauve) are still in bloom near where I live. So are the rock garden, low-growing ones, although they will likely finish soon. Any chance you could post or find a picture?
I would just cut off whatever was part of the flower heads - the stalk included - but leave the main stem. You MIGHT get another bloom out of them, who knows. And the stem, with all the leaves, can still work all summer to make the roots strong for next year.
Well, It's official. The tall phloxs have lost all of their beautiful fragrant blooms. All I have left are the cone-like green stems at the head of the stalk. They look so ugly. Should I cut off the head, cut at the base of the stalk or let them dry up and die.
The front beds went from an 8 on 10 to a 5 on 10 in 2 weeks!! Thankfully I see more perennials beginning to open up soon!
Thanks for any advice
I love the phlox that bloomed this spring in our front beds, and want to know whether or not to trim off the dying blooms to keep it blooming, or if it's DONE for the season!
I haven't grown phlox before but my neighbor does and also from what I have read....the creeping phlox will bloom early spring and the tall garden phlox will bloom all summer but you should be deadheading them to get repeat blooms. Also garden phlox can sometimes require staking. When you are watering the tall garden phlox you should also try to water them at the base of the plants and not overhead b/c they can be prone to powedery mildew(but some varieties are resistant).
Hope that helps too.
There are so many kinds of "phlox" it is very hard to know exactly what to expect. It is a perennial and you can often find it growing wild on shady wooded slopes. It is very beautiful and I look forward to seeing it every mid-May. It seems to disappear before July. I have tried many times to transplant clumps but they never last in my garden. I have bought some sold as "tender perennials" which bloom all summer in full part sun and have had to stake them along with some snap dragons. They have never come back for me once...so that type is grown as an annual- around here anyway. I would say that if the previous owners were "avid gardeners" then they must have been growing the hardier variety...and I am guessing, but would think this type would be more of a spring flowering plant and will probably die back mid summer. I would dig in some peat moss, water often, clip back dead flowers to keep them going as long as possible. It really helps to keep a few notes for yourself when learning about your "new" garden. It is hard to know what is there until a whole season has passed. My niece pulled out loads of perennials right after moving into her first house. She thought they were weeds. Another thought would be to take a cutting to a good garden center and either ask or see if they are selling something very similar to your phlox. Good Luck Norm