Phlox drummondii Seeds | Annual Phlox
LATIN NAME: Phlox drummondii
COMMON NAME: Annual Phlox
Plant Profile
Phlox drummondii, commonly known as Annual Phlox, is a low, bushy, branching annual in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae), native to southern north America. Few annuals pack so much colour into so little space as annual phlox. Flowers carry a light, sweet scent, and a bed of annual phlox in flower glows like a patch of summer confetti. The annual phlox belongs to the phlox family, Polemoniaceae, and it is a low, bushy, branching annual of open, sandy ground of south of the United States. Mature plants top out at about Thirty or forty centimetres. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. In combination, these characteristics make a persuasive case for growing it.
Science & Biotechnology
Research touching on Phlox drummondii ranges from the botany of the phlox family to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Botanists have examined flat, five-petalled flowers and their place among relatives of phlox family, and horticulturists have bred broad range of colours and bicolours that fill summer beds. Breeders and collectors still work with it, so well-kept seed remains available.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Annual Phlox earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. For summer border and pot, annual phlox is a bright, generous flower. Its dense clusters of small, flat, five-petalled flowers open through the whole summer and carry on until the frost, and they pull in the butterflies and the bees of the season. Low, bushy plants make a fine, neat carpet of colour in border, bed and window box, and they come in a broad range of clear, bright shades. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Phlox is the fragrant mainstay of the summer border, feeding butterflies by day and moths by night; purely ornamental and indispensable.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed of Annual Phlox under ordinary good conditions. Broadcast the seed thinly over a fine, free-draining compost, sieve a little more compost on top, and water with a fine rose. A spell of cool, moist conditions ahead of sowing brings the seed along nicely and supports even germination. Transplant the sturdiest seedlings to their permanent spots and let them develop without disturbance.
Our Take
It is a solid representative of the Phlox group, true to type from seed. In a sunny, freely drained position it needs little looking after.
Related Reading
Readers interested in Annual Phlox frequently explore these as well: