Phlox subulate for how long it blooms. Shelter for the winter

Styloid phlox or "moss carnation", namely, the styloid phlox received this name in its homeland, in the United States of America. They called the flower styloid phlox because of the structure of the leaf plate. It is narrow in shape with hard points, resembling small "slots". The styloid phlox is also referred to as a creeping or carpet plant. About breeding features perennial phlox read .

Phlox subulate varieties

Phlox subulate is a plant that is about 16-18 cm tall. Phlox covers the entire surface on which it grows. The stem of the plant does not reach for the sun, like all flowers familiar to the eye, it spreads along the ground, enveloping it with eternal greenery. On the stem of the phlox there is a huge number of tightly seated narrow, small (2 cm long), sharp leaves. At the end of the stem there is a peduncle, most often one, but it happens that some varieties suggest the presence of up to three peduncles at the same time.

If we talk about the flowers of inflorescences, then we can notice that one flower in diameter is about 2.5 cm. Most often they are:

pink,
purple,
white,
there are also more exotic colors.

Although phlox is considered an evergreen, winter-hardy today is not so easy to get. Most often planted garden molds and varieties of this flower. This is the perfect addition to a rocky garden in Japanese style. Suitable for decorating retaining walls and mixborders. The awl-shaped phlox is also relevant in the floral design of gardens and landscapes.

To date, a huge variety of varieties of awl-shaped phlox, different in color and size, have been bred. For example, in Russia, styloid perennial phloxes are considered the most popular. These are almost all varieties of phlox. Thanks to the enthusiasm of gardeners for this plant, many varieties of this plant have been obtained. The most common are styloid phloxes:

blue,
pink,
white flowers.

The variety candy stripes is not so common. This variety has bicolor flowers and prefers poor soils and sunny color.

Perennial styloid phlox, use in garden design.

Phlox subulate in landscape design

Often styloid phlox is used for landscape design as a ground cover plant.

Due to its structure, the styloid phlox covers all the space allotted to it. The only moment when phlox looks unsightly is the end of winter, but with careful care it regenerates and acquires its former “velvety”.

Planting Phlox subulate

Before planting a plant, it is necessary to cultivate the soil from all kinds of weeds, because cutting weeds into a phlox carpet will completely spoil the overall aesthetic picture. In addition, after the phlox blooms, it will be twice as difficult to remove the weeds.

Phlox subulate, care and cultivation

Planting and growing styloid phlox is not at all difficult, the main thing in this matter is proper care. Due to the fact that the styloid phlox blooms in spring and late summer, all manipulations with the plant must be done up to this point.

What does it mean? This means that the reproduction of the styloid phlox occurs only after the flowering process, when all the nutrients go directly to the root.

It is best to cut phlox subulate four times a year.

If the carpet has not yet covered the required area, and the plants are not so strong, then it is better to do this twice a year, before flowering, until about the first decade of June.

The price of phlox subulate seeds

Phloxes (lat. Phlox)- a kind of flowering herbaceous plants cyanide family, which includes more than 80 species, including styloid phlox (lat. Phlox subulata), got its name from the shape of the leaves. Otherwise, this species is called creeping or carpet, and in North America, where the styloid phlox comes from, it is called moss carnation. In the wild, the styloid phlox is distributed from southern Ontario to North Carolina, and from east to west from Tennessee to Michigan. He chooses scree, dry sandy hills and the shade of bushes for life.

Planting and caring for styloid phlox (in brief)

Bloom: from mid-May to the second decade of June, re-flowering - in August-September.
Landing: sowing seeds for seedlings - in March, planting seedlings in the garden - in the second half of May.
Lighting: bright sunlight or partial shade.
The soil: loose, evenly moistened or dryish, poor, sandy or medium loamy, neutral reaction.
Watering: moderate and infrequent. Watering is done early in the morning or after sunset, water is poured strictly under the root. In extreme heat and drought, water consumption is from 15 to 20 liters of non-cold water per 1 m² of land.
Top dressing: in spring - with a solution of humate, during budding - potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, after flowering - a complete mineral complex.
Reproduction: seeds, cuttings with a heel, green apical cuttings and division of the rhizome.
Pests: stem nematodes, slobbering pennits, leafworms, wireworms.
Diseases: rust, spotting, phomosis, verticillium wilt.

Read more about growing styloid phlox below.

Phlox subulate - description

In height it ornamental plant reaches 10-20 cm, forming dense evergreen rugs. Its recumbent stems with short internodes are densely covered with sharp, narrow and hard leaves up to 2 cm long, and they end with peduncles with one or two inflorescences of 5-7 funnel-shaped flowers up to 25 mm in diameter. The color of flowers with petals notched at the edges can be white, pink, purple or different shades of purple. The flowering of the styloid phlox begins in mid-May and lasts until the second decade of June, and re-flowering occurs in August-September. Phlox blooms so profusely that greenery is completely invisible under its inflorescences. But even when flowering ends, the styloid phlox does not lose its attractiveness: its sods remain green even under the snow.

Planting styloid phlox in open ground

Growing seedlings of Phlox subulate

Plants of this species do not form seeds in our climatic conditions, however, seedlings can be purchased at nurseries or garden centers, as well as plant seedlings. Seeds for seedlings are sown in large boxes in March: they are distributed over the surface of a substrate previously disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate in increments of 3-4 cm and only lightly sprinkled with soil. Place the crops on the windowsill, but shade them from direct sunlight. In anticipation of seedlings, the substrate is kept in a slightly damp state, using a sprayer for irrigation. Phlox subulate seedlings are planted in open ground at the stage of development of three or four true leaves. However, growing this type of phlox by seed is an unreliable business. It is much easier to buy plant seedlings.

Moss carnation will need your attention and certain growing conditions, but in principle, planting and caring for styloid phlox is not so difficult. It should be planted in places with the greatest illumination, having previously selected the roots of perennial weeds from the ground, in particular field bindweed, which is especially dangerous for phlox. The plant can develop in partial shade, but its flowering will not be as plentiful as in a sunny place. Phlox prefers sandy or medium loamy, poor, evenly moistened or even dryish soil, but it also grows well on other soils: it is important that they are loose, neutral and have aeration properties. Sand should be added to heavy soil, and 200 to 400 g per 1 m² in acidic soil. dolomite flour or other deoxidizer, thoroughly mixing it with the soil. The best predecessors for styloid phlox are calendula, tagetes and perennial lawn grasses - plants that the nematode does not like. In no case do not plant phlox after strawberries.

Before planting, the soil is dug up with humus (it is categorically not recommended to use fresh manure as a fertilizer), however, both organic matter and mineral complexes must be applied in modest amounts, since the plant forms a lot of greenery on well-fertilized soils, but blooms poorly.

Phlox subulate seedlings are planted in the second half of May in holes located at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other. Before filling the holes, the roots of the seedlings are carefully straightened, and after planting, the area is watered and mulched with peat. After a year or two, the perennial styloid phlox forms a continuous carpet at the planting site: during the season, the shoots of the plant grow up to 25 cm. The plant will bloom in the second year after planting.

Phlox subulate care

How to grow phlox subulate

The main point of care for styloid phlox at the very beginning of its development is the removal of weeds: growing through the turf, they damage the decorativeness of the planting. Weeding is done with great care and always after watering or rain. By the way, moderation is needed in moistening the soil, since the awl-shaped phlox can endure drought without losing attractiveness, but from excess moisture it gets sick and even dies. Phloxes are watered early in the morning or after sunset, pouring water strictly under the root so that drops do not fall on the leaves and stems. In extreme heat and drought, you will need 15 to 20 liters warm water per 1 m² of plot: the stems of the plant crack from cold water.

As for top dressing, it is advisable to adhere to the following scheme:

to stimulate growth and quick recovery after winter in early spring styloid phlox is fed with a solution of humate;
during the budding period, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied to the soil;
after the end of flowering, the styloid phlox is fed with a complete mineral complex;
the best fertilizer for styloid phlox is an ash solution, since it lacks nitrogen, which adversely affects flowering. To prepare the solution, you need to boil 300 g of ash in 2 liters of water for 10 minutes, then let the broth cool, strain it and bring the volume with water to 10 liters. If the ash solution is used on the leaves, then it can be used not only to feed the plant, but also to protect it from pests.

Phlox subulate after flowering

When caring for styloid phlox, do not forget to remove wilted flowers and damaged branches in a timely manner. After the first flowering is over, cut back the entire plant to encourage budding. If you prune the styloid phlox in the fall, it will not bloom in the spring.

Phlox subulate is largely cold-resistant, therefore it hibernates without shelter, however, with the onset of frost, it is necessary to mulch the root neck of the plant with peat. Mulch will not only protect the phlox from frost, but also serve as food for it in spring time. If the winter is expected to be cold and snowless, throw the styloid phlox over the mulch with spruce branches.

Pests and diseases of the styloid phlox

Phlox subulate in the open field, subject to the rules of agricultural technology to diseases and pests, is extremely resistant, but if you show carelessness in care, the plant may suffer from fungal infections. For example, a white powdery coating on leaves and stems indicates that the styloid phlox was struck by powdery mildew. The fight against this disease is blue vitriol and Bordeaux mixture. Reddish-brown spots on the ground organs of phloxes may mean that the plants are sick with rust, the pathogens of which can be destroyed with Topaz. Phomosis disease causes drying of the leaves and fragility of the shoots. This disease can be treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur. Septoria is diagnosed by brown dots on the leaf plates, which gradually grow and begin to interfere with photosynthesis. As a result of the development of the disease, the plant dies. In the fight against septoria and other fungal infections, preventive treatments with copper-containing preparations are used: make it a rule to spray the planting of styloid phloxes with Bordeaux liquid, copper sulphate or other copper-based fungicide every spring.

But the variegation, which sometimes affects plants in the garden, is a viral disease that cannot be cured, therefore, as soon as you see strokes and stripes appear on the phlox corollas, immediately remove and burn the diseased specimen.

Of the pests, nematodes and caterpillars are dangerous for styloid phloxes. The presence of stem nematodes on plants gives a change in the color and shape of the leaves, as well as a slowdown in the growth of shoots. It is useless to fight nematodes, but if crop rotation is observed as a preventive measure, these dangerous pests simply will not appear. And the caterpillars are harvested by hand or destroyed with an insecticide from leaf-eating pests.

Propagation of Phlox subulate

We told you about the seed propagation of the plant, but more often the styloid phlox is propagated vegetatively. For example, green apical cuttings, cuttings with a heel or rhizome division.

Propagation of styloid phlox by cuttings

The best time for grafting styloid phlox is the beginning of budding. The lower, lignified or leafless parts of the shoots are not suitable for grafting, since they take root very poorly, so tear off the green leafy shoot with a brace so that part of the stem skin remains at its end - this will be excellent cuttings for reproduction of Phlox subulate. lower leaves on cuttings it is better to remove.

Successful rooting requires room temperature and moist light soil - a mixture of peat and sand, for example, or decontaminated garden soil mixed with vermiculite or sand. To create a greenhouse effect, cuttings planted at an angle are covered with glass jars, plastic bottles with a cut neck or a transparent lid: under such conditions, roots form in some 7-10 days.

Sometimes, when dividing a bush, branches of a plant break off, which can be dug in by removing leaves from their lower part. Planted cuttings are watered and shaded from direct sunlight for the time of rooting with non-woven material - lutrasil or spunbond.

Reproduction of styloid phlox by dividing the bush

When the plant reaches the age of five, the middle of the bush begins to bulge out of the ground and becomes bare after each rain. This can lead to the death of the plant from spring frosts. In addition, the flowering of phlox by this age becomes scarce and less long. To save the plant and restore its decorative qualities, the styloid phlox is transplanted, during which it is desirable to divide the bush. The plant is dug up and divided into parts so that each of them has strong healthy roots and a few ground fragments. Delenki are planted at a distance of 35 to 60 cm from each other in holes, at the bottom of which you can add a handful of humus or rotted compost. This operation is best done in mid-August.

Varieties of phlox subulate

On the territory of Europe, the first varieties of styloid phlox appeared in England. Today, species phloxes no longer exist, and the plants that adorn our gardens are the product of hybridization and natural mutation. Breeders of the USA, England, Holland, Japan, France and Germany were engaged in breeding varieties of styloid phlox. We offer you an acquaintance with the most famous plant varieties:

Aurora- a variety up to 12 cm high with star-shaped flowers up to 24 mm in diameter, almost white with a pale pink tint;
Emazin Grace- a plant up to 12 cm high with flowers 18 mm in diameter of white color with a bright carmine eye;
G F Wilson- a profusely branching plant up to 20 cm high with light star-shaped lavender-blue flowers up to 18 mm in diameter:
Thumbelina- a variety 10-15 cm high with flowers 16 mm in diameter of a rich cold pink shade with a dark carmine eye;
Candy Stripes- a bush only 10 cm high with white flowers up to 20 mm in diameter, in which a wide longitudinal pink stripe runs through the middle of each petal. The variety is characterized by abundant and long flowering;
Coral Eye- flowers with a diameter of about 20 mm, star-shaped, light pink in color with a carmine eye on a bush 12 cm high;
Phlox subulate Bavaria- a plant up to 10 cm high, covered with a mass of white flowers with lilac eyes;
Themiskamin- profusely branching bush up to 15 cm high with dense sods and bright, dark raspberry-purple flowers up to 20 mm in diameter;
phlox styloid Scarlet Flame with flowers of bright orange-pink color with a diameter of up to 25 mm;
Mayshnee- snow-white wheel-shaped flowers with a diameter of up to 15 mm on a bush 8-10 cm high. The most popular white-flowered variety in culture;
Nettleton Variegata- styloid pink phlox with flowers 17 mm in diameter;
Phlox subulate Emerald Cuchon Blue- a variety 10-15 cm high with flowers up to 2 cm in diameter of a lilac-blue hue;
Tellaria- bushes up to 12 cm high with star-shaped flowers with a diameter of 23 mm, lilac with a carmine eye.

On sale you can find varieties.

These bright and elegant representatives of the cyanotic family, in addition to amazing decorative characteristics, also have many other advantages. Phloxes are unpretentious and can grow in low light conditions and on a wide variety of soils. They stand for a very long time in a bouquet, and therefore are great for decorating a room.

The genus of this plant includes more than seventy species, of which almost thirty are wild, and the rest are cultivated. Only varieties and hybrids of this flower, there are up to four hundred. Most of them are perennial crops. Phloxes are the most common in our country. Their flowers bloom in mid-May. Among this species, the creeping subulate phlox is the most common. It got its name due to the small oblong leaves that look like an awl.

Description

In height, the evergreen awl-shaped creeping phlox, covering the ground with a dense rug, reaches a maximum of twenty centimeters. The stems of this plant are densely covered with short, small, stiff leaves. On each stem there is one or two flowers, having a diameter of two and a half centimeters. The color can be very different: pink, red, white, purple (Douglas phlox), purple, etc. This culture blooms for the first time very abundantly in mid-May and until the end of June, the second time less generously - from August to September.

Creeping phlox is very winter-hardy. It is considered a real decoration of retaining walls and rocky gardens. Many gardeners love the creeping styloid phlox because of its ability to remain emerald green from spring to late autumn.

Although its flowers are quite small themselves, their inflorescences are so rich in appearance that they practically hide the leaves and stems. In Europe, the creeping styloid phlox first appeared in England. He immediately became very popular. It has been cultivated even in English gardens in the estates of the nobility.

Varieties of creeping subulate phlox

White, pink, dark red, purple, purple-blue - these flowers are incredibly beautiful in the garden. It is difficult to list all the shades that styloid phlox has. Even a novice gardener can plant and care for this flower. Phlox subulate refers to the ground cover. Almost all varieties of this plant are used to decorate rockeries. Many perennial creepers are common in our gardens. They begin to bloom at the end of May and look great on the plot. The lovely phlox Douglas and the purple-blue Rugelli are also very popular among domestic gardeners. The main characteristic that unites all creeping species of this flower is a low stem and dense inflorescences.

Very interesting are varieties such as Candy Stripes, which gives white flowers with a pink stripe in the center, lilac Tellaria, similar to an asterisk, Mayshnee, and the rapidly growing Thumbelina.

Phlox subulate: landing

The root system of this plant is shallow. During the preparation of the soil before planting, you need to carefully clean the place from weeds. The fact is that they can grow through the turf and spoil appearance flower garden. Enough to place planting material at a distance of twenty-five centimeters from each other, and in a year a solid carpet will be formed. In order for the growth process to be accelerated, the phlox stalks should be decomposed into right direction and fasten them well.

Planting holes should be dug at a depth of twenty to thirty centimeters, diligently fertilized with compost or humus mixed with ash and superphosphate fertilizers.

Soil Requirements

All creeping phloxes feel great on loose, dry soils. This is surprising, but on fertile soils they form more greenery than inflorescences. The fact is that in the wild they always grow on "poor" land. In regions with acidic soil, phlox will lack macronutrients, so the soil must be limed before planting. Most often, dolomite flour is used for this. Depending on the type of land, the amount of limestone can vary from 230 to 440 grams per square meter. On heavy soil, sand must be added to the holes immediately before planting.

Phlox care

It comes down to weeding, watering and feeding three times a day. At right choice landing places, suitable soil and proper care, creeping styloid phlox retains its beauty for about six years. And although this plant is frost-resistant, in a warm winter, its leaves rot. As a result, phlox may lose its decorative effect, however, when proper care can recover. The humus added to the ground contributes rapid growth plants and his abundant flowering. This plant is very fond of light and fertilizer. However, it should be remembered that it should not be overfed. Otherwise, the strength of the phlox "will go into the leaves", and it will have beautiful and powerful greenery, but you can not wait for the flowers. Watering should be rare and not very plentiful.

Phloxes that have reached the age of five must definitely be rejuvenated, as their stems begin to gradually “get stiff”, and the foliage begins to die off. In addition, adult plants are more susceptible to various diseases, and the flowers on a shrub that has been growing for more than five years in one place become smaller, and the bush itself seems weakened. Culture often needs top dressing wood ash containing all the necessary trace elements except for nitrogen.

Phlox creeping: reproduction

Most breeders believe that the fabulously beautiful bright low bushes of this plant are the most unpretentious and spectacular crops used to decorate gardens. The styloid phlox reproduces both vegetatively and by seeds. The easiest and most common way is to divide the bush. Transplantation is carried out in the spring. The distance between the bushes should be a maximum of thirty centimeters. If desired, at home, you can propagate the plant and stem cuttings, which are cut even before the awakening of the kidneys. They are planted in the ground in early spring. The cuttings take root quite quickly, and by the fall they turn out to be full-fledged plants. Propagation by seeds is practiced very little.

Growing features

V northern regions where plants need to be covered for the winter, it is better to use spruce branches for phlox, which will not acidify the ground.

Dry leaves are not suitable for this. In the spring, in order to help the phlox wake up faster, it can be watered with a solution of humate. This accelerates both its growth and the development of the root system.

The best predecessors for styloid phlox are calendula, lawn grass, tagetes and other crops that also do not tolerate an excess of moisture. You can not plant this plant, for example, after strawberries. Like other evergreen crops, styloid phlox is preferable to plant in places where there is a lot of snow in winter.

Pests

Styloid phlox most often suffer from powdery mildew and various caterpillars, which quickly damage the stems of the plant. The lesion can be seen by swirling brownish leaves. Such areas must be removed immediately.

Phlox is not recommended to be planted in such places for three years. This plant can also become ill from poor ventilation, as well as from a lack of fertilizer. Phlox should not be planted very close to each other, so as not to infect neighboring bushes.

Phloxes are a bright and lush decoration of the garden. They are grown for cutting, decorating plots, creating compositions in the open field. From the article you will learn about the features of planting this plant, as well as everything about caring for it.

Varieties and varieties of styloid phlox

Snow-white, dark red, pink, lilac - styloid phlox has many shades, planting and caring for which even beginners can do. It got its name from the narrow, pointed leaves that look like awls. This phlox belongs to the ground cover species that bloom earlier than the rest in spring. A flowering carpet is beautiful not only in the photo, but also on any summer cottage.

Variety "Candy Stripes"

Among the varieties of styloid phlox, the most interesting are:

"Candy Stripes". White flower with a pink stripe in the center.
"Tellaria". Lilac, in the form of an asterisk. Blooms for a very long time.
"Maishnee". Dazzling white flower, one of the most common.
"Thumbelina". It has a rich pink color. Grows fast.

Variety "Thumbelina"

Planting and plant care

When choosing a site for styloid phlox, give preference to a sunny and dry place. Also pay attention to the ground. It should be infertile, dry and loose. Acidity - neutral or slightly alkaline. On wet chernozems, plants give a lot of greenery, but practically do not bloom. The planting depth should be no more than 15 cm, because the roots of phloxes are not very long. The distance between the bushes is about 20-30 cm.

Advice. The best predecessors for phlox are perennial herbs, calendula. Do not root these flowers after garden strawberries: there is a high probability that nematodes remain in the soil, which will quickly take root on new plants.

Phlox care includes:

regular loosening of the soil;
destruction of weeds;
moderate watering with warm water (stems crack from cold);
removal of inflorescences that have withered.

It is important to know that phlox should not be watered with cold water.

Every 5 years, phloxes need to be replanted so that their flowering is lush and long. These flowers are considered frost-resistant, but on condition that a sufficient layer of snow covers them in winter. Therefore, in the fall, it is necessary to cut the tops, and sprinkle the roots with earth mixed with peat. Additionally, cover them with straw, spruce branches, fallen leaves.

Attention! If the winter weather is relatively warm, without severe frosts, with frequent thaws, the shelter should be removed, because phloxes can rot.

Fertilizer and top dressing of phloxes

Annual varieties need 4 top dressings per season, perennials - 5 (the latter will fall during the period of seed ripening).

Be sure to feed the phlox several times a season

Approximate fertilizer application scheme:

End of spring: 25 g liquid manure per 10 liters of water.
The beginning of June. The same, but with the addition of superphosphate.
Early July. Liquid manure without additives.
End of July. Fertilizer with potassium and phosphate salt. The introduction of potassium-phosphorus top dressing. Better to do in the evening.

You can use ash to fertilize phlox. Take 350 g, fill them with 2 liters of water, boil for 10 minutes. Cool, strain and add a bucket of water. Use for both root and leaf applications.

Advice. After winter, water the phlox with humus. This will speed up their growth and root development.

Perennial reproduction

Protection against diseases and pests

Phloxes most often suffer from variegation and powdery mildew. In the first case, an ugly pattern appears on the leaves, unusual for the plant, in the second - a white matte coating. Prevention of these diseases is spring treatment with Bordeaux liquid. If you notice symptoms, remove damaged plants.

Also among the diseases of phlox are found:

septoria (signs: brown spots on the leaves);
phomosis (signs: fragility of shoots, drying of leaves).

Phlox shoots infected with phomosis

If symptoms of septoria appear, spray the bushes and soil near them with Bordeaux liquid. Reapply after 14 days. The development of phomosis is easier to prevent by spraying phlox with colloidal sulfur.

Attention! The air temperature during processing must be at least + 18º C.

Of the pests, nematodes and other filamentous worms annoy phlox most of all. If they settled on plants, the stems become brittle, the leaves and flowers are deformed. Affected phloxes must be dug up and burned, and the soil must be treated with nematicides.

The combination of phlox with other plants

Phlox in landscape design

Phlox compositions with primrose, poppy, edelweiss, dwarf iris and wormwood, aster are successful. This flower looks bright against the background of conifers with a clear shape: arborvitae, juniper, pine, dwarf spruce. Harmonious combinations of awl-shaped phlox with other ground cover (sedum, juvenile). Annual plants are good in an ensemble with bluebells, snapdragons, cereals.

Advice. When choosing "neighbors" for phlox, take into account the flowering period of plants. Competently combining flower crops, you can create a colorful flower bed that will delight you from spring to autumn.

The use of styloid phlox in landscape design

Like a lawn. Especially suitable for decorating large areas in the garden.
On alpine slides and in rockeries. Here, phloxes will decorate the tops, as well as smooth out uneven slopes.
To create borders along the arbors, paths in the garden.
In mixborders (mixed flower beds). The styloid phlox will look better in the foreground.
In between paths lined with stones or slabs, and on stone steps.
For flower arrangements in containers. They are placed on the balcony or at the entrance to the gazebo, near the gate.

Phloxes on the alpine hill

To decide what is right for you, look at bright photos with phlox. But be sure: no matter what use you find for these colors, they will look festive and original everywhere. You just need a little imagination to make your site even more attractive.

How to grow phlox: video

Types and varieties of styloid phlox: photo

Styloid phloxes will become beautiful decorations any garden area. They are bright, spectacular and absolutely unpretentious. Belongs to the Blue family. The homeland of the styloid phlox is North America.

The stem is creeping or erect. The leaves are narrow-oval. Leaf color is bright green. Wherein the arrival of winter does not change the color of the leaves. Fragrant flowers form inflorescences. The size of the inflorescence varies depending on the variety.

The colors of the flowers are varied: pink, white, red, purple and others.

Varieties

Thanks to breeding work A wide variety of plant varieties have been bred.

carpet lights

This not a variety culture. This is the name of the plant, because the awl-shaped phlox is a bright and spectacular ground cover, which is lined with a flower carpet. Bright flowers-stars look like lights against the background of greenery.

carpet lights

Candy Strips

Candy Stripes is a very popular variety. The flower is white. In the center of the petal is a wide pink border. Plants form floral and colorful carpets. plant height no more than 15 cm.

Flowering lasts throughout the summer season. Likely to bloom again in early autumn.

Candy Strips

Esmerald Blue

Esmerald Blue (Esmerald Blue) is a variety with a height up to 15 cm. The flowers are pale lilac. Plants form a continuous flower carpet.

Esmerald Blue

Flowering is plentiful, lasts throughout the summer.

Purple Beauty

Purple Beauty is a spectacular varietal variety with bright purple flowers. The petals are strongly divided. The variety is characterized by strong growth. The plant begins to bloom in May.

Bloom lasts for 2 months.

Mayshne

Maischnee is another popular styloid phlox variety. The flowers are small, wheel-shaped. Flower color is white. plant height does not exceed 10 cm. Flowering lasts from May to June.

Perhaps re-blooming in August, but not as plentiful as the first.

Growing and caring for styloid phlox

Awl-shaped is considered a culture easy to grow and hardy.

Ground Requirements

Styloid phlox feel much better on poor and dry soil than on fertile.

On fertile soil, they practically do not please with their bright and fragrant flowers, since the plant's strength is spent on building up green mass.

The soil must be loose and neutral. Therefore, if the soil in the area is acidic, then it is recommended to add lime to it.

The plant prefers dry soils.

It is advisable to plant phloxes in the area where perennial crops used to grow - marigolds, calendula.

Plant on a former strawberry site Not recommended, since the risk of soil contamination with a nematode is high.

Landing

It is desirable to plant seedlings in early spring when the soil is already warm, but retains moisture.

How to plant?

Before planting, you will need to prepare the soil, for this all weeds are removed;
You can add rotted compost to the soil;
Seedlings are not recommended to be deeply buried, since the subulate phlox has a superficial root system;
The distance between seedlings should be at least 25 cm.

Care after landing

Care includes the following procedures:

Systematic loosening of the soil;
Weed removal;
Regular and moderate watering. The water used is warm, as cold water leads to cracking of the stems;
Pruning of faded inflorescences.

In winter, it tolerates frost well.

In the northern regions you can hide phlox subulate. Film can be used as a cover. However, stems can sprout under cover. As a result, the death of culture is possible. In snowy winters, they can do without shelter.

In summer, plants tolerate both drought and temporary drops in temperature. In drought, abundant watering is required.

For the winter, styloid phlox is cut from dry flowers

top dressing

At the stage of active growth, top dressing will be required, which contains nitrogen and potassium. Further, at the flowering stage, complex mineral fertilizer can be applied.

It is also desirable to add humus. Humus stimulates not only the growth of culture, but also promotes abundant and intense flowering. It is better to make it at the end of the winter period.

Excess fertilizer, especially nitrogen, fraught with too weak flowering or its absence.
Wood ash can be used as top dressing.

reproduction

Styloid phlox reproduce in several ways:

seed;
cuttings;
By division.

seeds

Propagation by seeds is least common method culture reproduction. How to propagate subulate phlox using seeds?

Sow seeds in open ground at the end of February;
When two true leaves appear on the seedlings, they must be transplanted to the main place of growth;
The soil where the seedlings grow should always remain moist.

Seeds of slox styloid

cuttings

Cut off the apical cutting of a creeping shoot, you can also use a broken stem;
Remove lower leaves from a cutting;
Rooting occurs when kept at room temperature in a pot with fertile soil;
In the spring, you can transplant into open ground.

The division of the rhizome

It is desirable to make division in the spring, but it is also possible at the end of flowering.

What is required to reproduce by division?

The plant is dug up;
They shake off the earth from the earthen coma;
Every division must have developed roots;
The resulting plants are planted in pre-prepared holes.

Delenki phlox subulate

Diseases and pests

The most common diseases:

Powdery mildew;
Variegation.

powdery mildew determined by the whitish bloom on the leaves, and variegation manifests itself in the form of ugly patterns on the foliage. It is required to remove the affected parts of the plant.

As a preventive measure for these diseases, spring period treat with Bordeaux mixture.

The most common pests:

Nematode;
Thread worm.

Pests lead to fragility of stems and deformation of leaves. With the development of pests on plants, it is recommended to dig the plants out of the soil and destroy them, and treat the soil with nematicides.

Nematocide for pest control of phlox subulate

Combination with other plants

Styloid phlox successfully coexist with these plants:

Asters;
Primrose;
Undersized irises;
poppies;
young;
Snapdragon.

Phloxes are also good next to coniferous crops: thuja, juniper, pines.

Styloid phloxes are good for planting on small lawns, where the plants form continuous flower carpets.

Phloxes are also used to create low curbs along garden paths . It is possible to use styloid phloxes in rock gardens, rockeries and mixborders.

Especially nice flowers in the foreground of flower beds. Also, the culture can be grown in containers that will decorate the verandas, porch or entrance to the garden plot.

Thus, the styloid phlox is a bright and unpretentious ground cover that can decorate a garden plot, forming a continuous carpet on the lawn. There are many varieties with a wide variety of colors of flowers-lights.

To create on your site not an ordinary flower garden, but real lakes or a thick carpet of flowers is a task that is quite real if the awl-shaped phlox is taken for its implementation.

Description

Phlox subulate / phlox subulata.

Phlox is a plant belonging to the ground cover perennial shrubs of the Sinyukov family.

Basic information about the plant:

Height: from 15 to 17 cm, there are miniature plants from 5 cm tall, as well as varieties up to 21 cm high;
Stem: creeping (recumbent), green, hard. During the development of the plant, the stem can reach 0.5 m in length. The stem consists of many internodes, which, being on moist soil, often release additional roots. Leaves grow along the entire length of the stems, which are at a short distance from each other.
Leaves: evergreen, opposite, small (length 1-2 cm), narrow, very hard, with a pointed tip. The shape of the leaf, resembling an awl, gave the name to the plant.
Flowers: small (diameter - up to 2 cm), consist of 5 petals. At the base they are connected and tube. Opening, the petals form a flat corolla. Petals have different colors (white, cream, pink, bright red, blue, etc.), two-color phloxes are often found. During flowering exude a delicate aroma.
Root system: fibrous, consists of many adventitious roots. Depth - up to 15 cm.
Flowering time: late May - early June. A second flowering period is possible - September.
Names: The Latin name for the styloid phlox is phlox subulata. The people are also called creeping, carpet, and also - moss carnation.

Varieties

Professional breeders have been dealing with styloid phlox for a long time. During this period, they created many interesting varieties that have become popular among flower growers.

Candy Strapes

Phlox subulate "Candy stripes"

The original color of the petals is the main difference between the Candy Strayps variety. Their main color is white, it is almost completely covered by a wide stripe that has a pink tint. Candy is low, does not rise above 10 cm, blooms profusely, the diameter of the flowers is up to 2 cm. The flowers appear together, Candy blooms for a long time.

Emerald Cushon Blue

Phlox subulate "Emerald cushion blue"

The Emerald Cushon Blue variety has several characteristic differences at once. Firstly, this is the color of the petals: they have a delicate purple with a bluish tint. Secondly, the abundance of flowering. The flowers of Emerald Cushon Blue are small (up to 15 to 20 mm in diameter), but at the same time they bloom so much that green leaves and stems are not visible behind a beautiful and dense purple carpet. Thirdly, a bright, noticeable aroma.

Emerald Pink

Phlox subulate "Emerald pink"

Phlox Emerald Pink always catches the eye in any area - its petals are painted pinkish with a reddish tint, and the center stands out in crimson.

Scarlet Flame

Phlox subulate "Scarlet flame"

Scarlet Flame flowers are quite large, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, have a very bright, rich, even somewhat darkish pink color, which corresponds to its name - "fiery". This shrub has a height of 15 cm, blooms twice: in early summer (May - June) and early autumn (August - September).

Possible methods of reproduction

To breed styloid phlox, you can use one of three methods.

seeds

Using seeds for propagation is not the most common way. This is due to the small number of seeds that appear in the seed pod after flowering. In one box, on average, there are 2-3 seeds. Usually seed propagation uses the semi-shrub itself when new plants appear with the help of self-sowing seeds.
If the gardener managed to collect or purchase seeds, they should be planted in a container in the fall. A small flat container is filled with a mixture of soil, humus, sand. Seed boxes are laid shallow (1.5 cm) and the container is left in cool place(cellar, balcony). To create natural conditions before the new year, they cover it with snow. During the winter, the sprouts germinate, at the beginning of spring (March) they can be planted in a greenhouse, and in April they will land on permanent place into the ground.

By dividing the bush

Often only household plots used for reproduction used dividing the bushes. Thus, it is possible to increase the planting of a particular variety, a certain colors. Bushes can be divided in April. It is not difficult to perform the procedure, for this you need to pick up a well-grown bush.

The bush chosen for division is carefully dug up.
The excavated bush is divided into parts so that each has roots.
Parts separated from the bush are planted in the allotted place.

cuttings

In spring (early April) and summer (after flowering), you can use another method of propagating styloid phlox - cuttings. The semi-shrub has a high survival rate, therefore it does not require complex actions or special preparation for cuttings.
Any shoot can become a cutting. It is desirable that he had several roots from the internode, but their absence does not hurt: the cutting itself will take root.
Those parts of the shoots that were broken off when dividing the bush can also become cuttings.

Rooting pinned shoots

From the growing stems of phlox, you can get several new plants. This is facilitated by the rapid appearance of roots on those parts of the stem that turned out to be lying directly on wet ground. This feature is used for reproduction. The selected stem is laid on the ground and sprinkled with soil in the place that will become the center of the new bush. After rooting, the new shrub is cut off from the old plant.

Video "Spring phlox - subulate phlox"

Planting Phlox subulate

Phloxes are one of the most convenient plants for flower growers. They are unpretentious, take root well, do not require special care. But certain rules for planting and caring for a plant must be followed in order to achieve it. lush flowering.

Location selection

For all its undemandingness, the styloid phlox has its own preferences for the landing site. The plant does best in full sun with well-drained soil. If the plant is planted in areas with heavy soil, it is necessary to dilute it with sand.
In partial shade, you can also achieve good flowering, but you need to make sure that the soil is not too wet: phlox suffers in wetlands, in areas with high humidity.
Poor or rocky soil will not cause problems for the plant, phlox will easily master it and cover it with a beautiful carpet. On neutral soils, the plant develops better.

Landing

Before planting, a landing pit is prepared for the semi-shrub. The order of its filling: drainage (expanded clay, pebbles), a mixture of soil with humus and a small amount of ash. Seedlings, cuttings or parts of the bush are dipped in the Kornevin solution, after which they are planted at a distance of 30 cm from each other so that each bush has room for the stems that will soon appear.

When planting in early spring, when the soil is still damp, additional watering of the planted plants is not required. If the cuttings are planted later, when the soil has already become dry, it is moistened around the planted cutting. In this case, you need to be careful not to fill the stalk with excess. The planted cuttings are covered with a non-woven fabric and left for several days (up to 1 week) for the cuttings to take root.

Care

Phlox subulate variety "Aurora"

Growing and caring for styloid phlox includes traditional procedures.

Watering

Moderation when watering is one of the conditions for the successful development of the plant. The beautiful semi-shrub is hardy and can tolerate short dry spells. Excess moisture becomes more problematic for the plant, it can lead to root rot and plant diseases.
Therefore, water the flowers sparingly, after it dries upper layer soil. In dry summers, watering is done 1 time in 2-3 days, the rest of the time it is enough to water the styloid phlox once a week.

Weeding

Growing and caring for an ornamental shrub is not complete without systematic weeding. Weeds are cleaned from the soil before planting, trying to remove the roots from the soil mixture. In the future, the plant is weeded regularly.

top dressing

During the season, you need to carry out several dressings of phlox. This will prolong flowering, make the plant strong and hardy.
Most often, gardeners feed the plant with liquid manure, a small amount (25 g) is diluted in 10 liters of water. You can also use mineral fertilizers.

pruning

In the spring, you can prune the plant. This will form beautiful bush. When pruning at other times (summer, autumn), the buds on the shoots are removed, which leads to problems next year.
Timely removal of corollas that have faded and withered provides a second flowering (August - September).

Video "Styloid Phlox - planting, care and reproduction"

Disease and pest control

Phlox subulate is a fairly strong plant, resistant to many diseases.

Most often, help is required for shrubs on which signs of powdery mildew have appeared (lethargy, slow development, reduced flowering). With this fungal disease, it is necessary to begin an urgent fight. To stop its development, not only diseased plants are removed from plantings, but also the topsoil where they grew. After that, the soil and the remaining flowers are treated with any antifungal drug.

To prevent the appearance of powdery mildew, it is possible in the spring, before flowering, to carry out preventive treatment of plantings. For this, Bordeaux liquid is used, and they are also treated with Topaz before and after flowering.

Plant pests are spider mites. Spots first appear on the leaves, then the entire leaf dries out. The stems are often attacked by caterpillars, and nematodes are another pest. When pests appear, it is necessary to remove the plants damaged by them and treat the remaining plantings with special preparations (“Aktrofit”, etc.).

The use of styloid phlox in decorating the site

A beautiful semi-shrub has found wide application in garden design. It is often used to create beautiful alpine slides or bright lawns. Given the low growth of the plant, it looks good as a border that decorates garden paths or grows between path tiles.
Phlox is appropriate in flower beds and flowerpots, in single plantings, in combination with other flowers (sedum, snapdragon, bluebell) or cereals.
Phlox subulate on the site is a beauty for many years!

The styloid phlox is called because of the pointed shape of the leaves.

Awl-shaped phlox is an ornamental plant up to 15 cm high, with dense greenery and small bright flowers.

The name is associated with narrow and pointed leaves, due to which the stem of the flower resembles a coniferous twig.

Styloid phloxes usually bloom twice during the summer: first from May to mid-June, the second time - in August-September.

Landing

Location selection

In nature, the favorite places of this plant are dry and sunny hills and sandy slopes, rocky areas.

Insufficient ventilation is bad for these flowers. They will not bloom well if planted too closely or under a solid wall. It is better to plant them at a distance from the fence or choose more openwork, breathable barriers.

Styloid phlox, like all evergreens, needs snow cover in winter.

These flowers will quickly grow and occupy the area intended for them. Shoots grow more than 10 cm per year and take root well.

Landing time selection

By the beginning of summer, phlox should be well rooted in the ground.

The styloid phlox is propagated by cuttings and seeds. Cuttings are cut in early spring, planted in seedling boxes or on prepared beds, watered with warm water.

Young plants from boxes are transplanted into open ground.

Such cuttings take root perfectly in late spring-early summer, and by autumn they become adult plants.

Soil preparation

The root system of styloid phloxes is located at a depth of up to 15 cm. It is precisely because they require a thin layer of soil that these flowers adorn rocky areas and alpine hills.

How to grow a delphinium in the garden, read here.

Also read how to choose ornamental shrubs for summer cottages.

The soil for planting styloid phlox should be dry and well-drained. In addition, it is important to know what has grown on this land recently: pests may remain from last year. So, if strawberries grew on the site in the previous season, the probability of phlox infection with roundworms is very high.

It is safest to plant styloid phloxes in areas where lawn perennial grasses or flowers such as marigolds (tagetes) and calendula grew.

It is important to clear the site of the roots of perennial weeds. Phlox, intertwining stems, form a turf through which a strong weed can break through and spoil the appearance of the site. It will be very difficult to remove such a weed and not damage the flowers.

Liming is a must for acidic soils.

acidic soils- as, for example, in the Moscow region - it is necessary to lime. To do this, lime or dolomite flour is thoroughly mixed with the soil.

200-400 grams of lime is used per square meter or less, depending on the situation.

In very heavy soils, a little sand is added before planting flowers.

Care

Not too abundant watering, timely weeding and fertilizing 2-3 times per season - this is usually enough to keep the styloid phloxes healthy and looking great.

Areas with old plants need to be rejuvenated.

If your phlox is five years old or older, leafless fragments may appear on them, and flowering will become less abundant.

Feeding

Before flowering, from about the end of April to mid-May, nitrogen-potassium fertilizers are applied to the soil. If necessary, a complete mineral fertilizer is added in the middle of summer.

Wood ash is both a fertilizer for phlox and a pest repellent

One of the best ways to feed is wood ash.

It has all the necessary macro- and microelements, although there is no nitrogen. The ash solution also helps as a means of pest control.

If you overdo it with fertilizers, as well as on very fertile soils, awl-shaped phloxes will give a thick green carpet, but rarely and poorly bloom.

The best conditions for their flowering are created on relatively dry, poor soils.

Watering

Watering awl-shaped phlox should be very moderate. These are drought-resistant plants, excess moisture harms them. Outwardly, the signs of waterlogging may look like this: the plants are weakened, the flowers are rare, there is no effect of a solid carpet.

pruning

Once a year, after flowering, it is enough to remove old stems and adjust the shape of the green array. In the spring, after the snow melts, dry shoots can be cut.

Pests and diseases

To protect plants from powdery mildew, preventive treatment is carried out before and after flowering - for example, with the Topaz composition.

In case of damage by caterpillars, insecticides are used.

Also read how to grow verbena from seeds.

To learn how to plant a daylily in your garden, click here.

Application in landscape design

A variety of varieties of styloid phlox allow you to create real artistic compositions.

The flowers of styloid phloxes can be plain or decorated with stripes, a contrasting border, with bright stars in the middle. Color - from the purest white to rich purple, including all shades of pink and lilac, blue and blue-violet. The leaves of different varieties also differ in color saturation and hue.

Dense greenery between flowering periods looks great on rocky areas of the garden, on slopes, terraces and alpine slides. Awl-shaped phlox often frames multi-level flower beds - mixborders.

During flowering, the effect of a continuous carpet allows, by combining varieties of different colors, to obtain delightful compositions on lawns and very small flower beds.

The most beautiful and popular varieties of subulate phloxes are presented in the photo gallery:

Jul 21, 2015Elena Timoshchuk

This type of perennial phlox got its name for narrow, pointed, awl-like leaves.

The phlox is native to North America, where its wild species grow on sandy hills, scree and under dense shrubs. The plant is very unpretentious, blooms for a long time and profusely. For that is very popular among flower growers.

The stems of the subulate phlox spread along the ground, forming a dense green carpet up to 15 cm high. It blooms from mid-May to the second decade of June. Flowering is so abundant that you can not even see the foliage. Re-flowering - in August. Phlox flowers small in diameter no more than 2 cm, white, pink, lilac, purple in color with pronounced eyes and without them.

Phlox subulate winter-hardy. Even under snow, it retains its emerald green foliage. In the spring it can burn in the sun, but gradually restores its decorative effect.

Location and planting of the styloid phlox.

Despite the unpretentiousness and plasticity, styloid phlox is best planted in dry sunny areas. Places with excessive moisture are not suitable for planting. Phlox subulate refers to evergreens , so the landing site in winter period should be well covered with snow.

Phloxes grow well on poor, dry, loose soils. On the fertile soil plants give a lot of greenery to the detriment of flowering. Soil acidity should be neutral. Acidic soils are limed before planting, adding 200-300 g of lime or dolomite flour per 1 m2, mixing it with the ground. On heavy or clay soils, when digging, make river sand. There is no need for additional fertilizers.

The main event in planting phlox subulate is the removal of weeds from the soil, especially dandelion roots, which, growing through the turf, spoil the appearance of the plantings, and it is almost impossible to remove them without damaging the turf. Also, when growing a beautiful carpet, thorough weeding should be systematically carried out. In order to get a gorgeous turf in a year or two, the plants are planted at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other, the stems are directed in the right direction, pinned and lightly sprinkled with moistened earth. Pinned shoots in the branching places take root very quickly and continue to occupy the area allotted for them.

Caring for ground cover phlox.

Caring for ground cover phlox comes down to regular weeding, occasional watering and top dressing.

First dressing held in late April before flowering. At this time, nitrogen-potassium fertilizers are applied.

Second top dressing styloid phlox - in the middle of summer. During this period, full mineral fertilizer is applied.

The plant responds well to top dressing with an ash solution, which contains the necessary trace elements in sufficient quantities. To prepare a solution, 300 g of ash is poured into two liters hot water. You can boil for 5-7 minutes. After the solution has cooled, it should be filtered and diluted in 10 liters of water. room temperature. Plants are watered under the root or completely over curtains.

Remember that it is better to underfeed than overfeed. Otherwise, the plants will begin to fatten, which will adversely affect flowering.

Also, plants need a haircut, which is held annually immediately after flowering. In spring, styloid phlox should not be cut, otherwise there will be no lush flowering. And you should not be late with this procedure either.

With good care, clumps of ground cover phlox retain their decorative effect for up to five years. Then the plants need rejuvenation, because the old stems are stretched, woody, and the leaves on them die off. Bare spots appear on the green carpet, the flowers become smaller and the plants look unkempt and untidy.

In the northern regions, it is advisable to cover phloxes for the winter. For this, spruce spruce branches are used. Foliage is not suitable for shelter. Under its dense layer, plants can rot.

Reproduction of Phlox subulate.

Ground cover phlox propagates vegetatively and seed ways. The seed method of reproduction, as a rule, is not used.

The easiest way to reproduce is dividing the bush. Transplanting and dividing is best done in the spring, when there is enough moisture in the soil and you can do without watering. Additional roots form on the shoots, thanks to which the plant receives more nutrients and grows rapidly, forming a dense turf. When dividing, you can simply dig out part of the plant with roots and transplant to another place.

Often during dividing phlox styloid shoots break off without roots. They can be used for cuttings. Remove all leaves from the bottom of the stem and plant the cuttings in the ground. The soil around the cuttings is compacted and watered. To prevent moisture from evaporating, the cuttings are covered with a thin non-woven material, and if there are few of them, then they can be covered with dark plastic bottles with holes for air ventilation. All cuttings root easily.

Division and transplant phlox styloid tolerates well at any time, but cuttings are best done in the spring, before or immediately after flowering.

Phlox subulate in garden design.

Phlox subulate are considered an essential attribute alpine slides, where they are placed on warm sunny slopes, they will be an excellent addition to various compositions on rocky terraces and in mixborders, on the lawn with the help of phlox you can create bright colorful spots. Planting sod between stones or between garden path slabs smooths out the harsh lines of the stones and gives them a natural look.