Phlox

Phlox paniculata Franz Schubert

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July to September
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Phlox have always been country garden favourites for their delicious scent and attraction to butterflies and bees. This long flowering variety has large, fragrant trusses of pearlised lilac flowers which provide excellent cut flower material. Planted in the middle rank of a border, this perennial looks wonderful with the inky blue spikes of Salvia or any of the Veronicastrums to extend summer colour into the early autumn. It will tolerate full sun or partial shade, but like all phlox, does not like soil that dries out in summer.
  
  
• Garden care: Support with bamboo canes, brushwood or ring stakes before the flowers appear. Phlox are greedy plants, so apply a mulch 5-7cm (2-3 in) deep of well-rotted garden compost or manure in early spring. Shear off the spent flowers to prevent reseeding. If the leaves show signs of powdery mildew, cut down to the ground and dispose of the affected foliage, but do not compost it. Clear away the debris around the plant to reduce the chances of reinfection. Cut down to the ground in autumn. Lift and divide large clumps in autumn or spring.
  
  

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