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How quickly does creeping phlox spread?
Like other ground covers,creeping phlox takes a few years to reach maturity — about two years on average, according to the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension. This means it grows an average of about an inch per month.
How do you encourage creeping phlox to spread?
Fertilizer. Fertilizing in the late winter or early spring will promote growth and support a more robust bloom for your creeping phlox. Feed it with a general slow-release fertilizer suitable for flowering plants, following label instructions.
When should you plant creeping phlox?
Plant phlox in the spring—after the threat of frost has passed—and space the plants 1 to 2 feet apart. If you are moving a plant from a pot, dig a hole about twice the size of the pot’s diameter and place the plant so that the top of the root ball is even with the soil’s surface.
Do creeping phlox come back every year?
Phlox are easy-to-grow perennials that come back reliably every season. Creeping Phlox blooms in mid-spring. It looks great planted with spring-blooming bulbs, like Daffodils and Tulips, or as an edging plant, or planted on slopes or stone walls where it can spill over the edge.
Will creeping phlox bloom all summer?
Creeping phlox blooms for approximately six weeks late in the spring and into the early part of the summer in all zones where it grows.
How do you maintain creeping phlox?
Care of Creeping Phlox The plant benefits from an early spring application of fertilizer to encourage new growth and flowering. Even established plants should have supplemental watering in hot summer periods and plants along rockeries may show signs of scorching due to the hot surroundings.
Can you divide creeping phlox?
It’s easy to divide. Spread the foliage apart and cut through the roots along the dividing line, which you can see in the top photo at left, making sure all the roots on the division are severed from the main plant. Then use a trowel to loosen the roots and release the division from the ground so you can lift it.
Can you walk on creeping phlox?
Creeping Phlox Phlox preferes direct sunlight and well-drained soil, and it’s durable enough to walk on throughout the year.
How do you keep phlox blooming all summer?
Since phlox is a perennial, the resulting seedlings can become weedy and often do not bloom. Deadheading the plants allows the parent plant to focus on providing blooms and keeping the main crown healthy. You can then divide the plant every two to three years and make more of this lovely bloomer if you wish.
How long will creeping phlox bloom?
Blooming profusely for 3-4 weeks in mid to late spring, Creeping Phlox boasts bright, fragrant flowers in shades of blue-purple, pink, red or white. Each flower is adorned with five, flat, petal-like, rounded lobes that are distinctively notched. Mat-forming, Phlox subulata grows only 4-6 in.
Why is my creeping phlox not blooming?
Some possible reasons they don’t bloom include: Not enough sun. They need at least 6 hours of full sun. Powdery mildew weakening the plant.
What grows well with phlox?
Perennial Gardens Garden phlox is a good companion for other summer-blooming perennials such as lilies, bee balm, rudbeckia, Shasta daisies, yarrow, clematis and daylilies.
Can phlox survive frost?
Creeping phlox plants are not as sensitive to frost as many other plants, but temperatures of 20 degrees Fahrenheit for a few nights after a period of warm spring weather will damage them and temperatures below 40 F should prompt protective measures. Fall frost is not a problem for creeping phlox plants.
How do you plant a creeping phlox on a slope?
Slide the creeping phlox carefully from the container, and then place the plant in the hole. Ensure the creeping phlox is planted at the same soil depth as it was planted in its container. Planting the top of the root ball too deeply may cause the plant to rot.
Should you deadhead creeping phlox?
Pruning Creeping Phlox Phlox stolonifera benefits from deadheading to permit air circulation and to reduce development of powdery mildew, one of the few phlox problems, according to North Carolina State University Extension. Start to cut back flowering stems once half the blooms are spent.
Is creeping phlox invasive?
Needless to say, creeping phlox is one hardy plant. One of the best loved features about creeping phlox is that it will spread, but is not so brutish as to be invasive about it. It will cover an area quite nicely and will politely step around anything already growing there.
Should I cut back phlox with powdery mildew?
Healthy phlox plants can be cut back by half after the flowers fade from late summer to fall to prevent reseeding. Phlox is prone to the disease powdery mildew, which disfigures the plants from the bottom up, covering them in a whitish powder. Cut infected plants back to the ground for winter with pruning shears.
