Representative of the North American flora "moss carnation" or styloid phlox - magnificent garden flower, endowed with evergreen foliage that persists even under snow, bright colors flower stars, unpretentiousness, won the hearts of Russian flower growers. Aboriginal species does not occur in gardens, only artificially bred varieties and hybrids are grown. The compact form of the plant finds numerous uses in landscape design.

Ground cover plants of the species Phlox subulate (Phloxsubulate), related to flowering plants herbaceous plants genus Phlox (Phlox) of the cyanotic family (Polemoniaceae), perennial, frost-resistant.

Mature plants are a dense "carpet", woven from numerous stems, growing up to half a meter in length and up to 20 cm high, densely covered with needle-like short up to 2.5 cm opposite leaves, juicy malachite-green color, retaining decorative effect all year round.

During flowering, creeping shoots are densely strewn with tubular medium-sized flowers 1.5-2 cm in diameter, located on one or more peduncles, single or collected in inflorescences. Flat, star-shaped corolla of the flower is formed by 5 petals various colors: white, pink, red, blue, purple, two-color, has a delicate aroma.

Early flowering - May or early June, depending on the variety and region of growth, abundant (sometimes leaves are not visible due to flowers), long - up to 3-4 weeks. At favorable conditions in September they bloom again, but less abundantly.

The fibrous root system of flowers is small, superficial, consisting of short adventitious roots up to 5-10 cm, which allows them to grow even on rocky slopes with a small layer of earth and grow widely to the sides.

Due to its structure, the styloid phlox masters the entire area provided to it in a short period of time.

In one place, the styloid phlox can grow up to 5 years without losing its decorative effect.

Popular varieties:

All varieties of styloid phlox are bred by foreign breeders. They differ in shade of colors and methods of care.

Popular among Russian gardeners:

• White Delight. Large (up to 2.5 cm) monophonic snow-white flowers, the plant is unpretentious to the composition and acidity of the soil, blooms twice per season (May-June, August-September);
• Emerald Cushion Blue. Not too growing, compact shrub with small flowers of about 1.5 cm bluish-purple hue. Prefers sandy drained soils;
• Scarlet Flame. Large flower corollas up to 2 cm have a dark pink hue, located 10-15 cm in peduncles, although the name of the styloid phlox Scarlet Flame is translated as "scarlet radiance". Not demanding variety, but blooms brighter and more abundantly in well-drained sunny areas;
• Candy Stripes. Two-tone white-pink petals, peduncle height 10 cm, the bush grows up to 60 cm in diameter. Fairly cold hardy.

All varieties and hybrids of the styloid group of creeping phlox species are unpretentious and unusually decorative.

Plant propagation methods

The special structure of the vegetative organs of styloid phloxes contribute to various methods of reproduction.

The division of the bush. In early spring or autumn after flowering, the most auspicious time breeding. Short and numerous suction roots allow, without much damage to the plant, to dig it out of the ground and divide it into parts. Prepared delenki immediately landed in place.

Reproduction by layering. The shoots of the styloid phlox are endowed with knees, pressing the knee to the moistened soil and pinning it from the knee, new roots will soon appear. The rooted shoot is separated from common bush and transplanted to permanent place.

reproduction stem cuttings. Preparation of cuttings to produce up to the stage of budding. Favorable period is early spring. Cut shoots with 2-3 internodes, leaving 2-3 cm of the stem under the bottom node. Plant the cuttings in a container with moistened soil mixture, sticking it into the sand to the first knot.

Soil composition:

• the bottom layer (7 cm) is sand mixed with humus;
• the top layer (5 cm) is one sand.

The cutting is stuck into the sand without touching the fertile layer. Landings are shaded. A kind of "greenhouse" is being built. The cuttings are ventilated daily, watered as the top layer of the soil dries up.

Seeds. Most phlox varieties produce a large number of seeds. They can also reproduce by self-seeding. Harvested seeds are sown immediately, because they quickly lose their germination. Usually sown in autumn directly into the ground to a depth of 2 cm. Freezing the soil does not reduce their germination. In the spring, seedlings are planted like any other seedlings. The flowering of styloid phloxes grown from seeds occurs much later than those propagated in any other way.

Planting a styloid phlox

Due to the unpretentiousness of the flower to the composition of the soil, ease of reproduction, excellent survival, undemanding to specific care, incredible decorativeness makes the plant more and more popular. For greater decorativeness and duration of flowering, certain growing conditions will still be required.

The soil. The ideal soil for planting is loose, low nutritional value, without stagnant water soil, on the contrary, phlox is drought-resistant. A flower planted in fertile soil will be thick and juicy, but weakly blooming. Too wet soil threatens with fungal diseases, spring wetting of the roots is extremely dangerous.

You also need to take care of acidity. Too acidic are subject to liming, add sand or other baking powder to heavy soils.

Weeds are the scourge of planting styloid phlox. They must be removed before planting the plant, then, when a dense “carpet” grows, it will not work to weed out without harming the bush.

Location. The decorativeness of phloxes increases in a sunny, elevated place. It is worth considering winter frosts, although phlox is considered winter-hardy, but a decent snow layer will not hurt.

Landing. There are no special landing recommendations. Given the shallow growth of the roots of only 5-10 cm, they make a hole and root the seedling, tightly crushing the ground near the stem. To protect tender roots from direct sunlight, sprinkle the earth with compost, it is also a good top dressing.

To create a large area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe "carpet", the cuttings are seated at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other. Good survival rate will allow seedlings to grow and create a continuous flowering composition in 1-2 years.

Outdoor flower care

The main care is to feed the bushes with fertilizer. In the spring, before flowering, nitrogen-containing ones will be required, the introduction of humus stimulates the growth of new shoots. During flowering and in the middle of summer, complex dressings are used.

Wood ash is both an excellent fertilizer and protection against pests for phlox, spraying the green mass, and at the same time as a foliar top dressing.

Ash solution:

• Dissolve 300 g of ash in 2 liters of water, boil for about 10 minutes;
• cool, strain, dilute the resulting composition with water to 10 liters of solution.

Phlox fertilizer should be used with caution - do not overfeed, otherwise flowering will be poor.

In a hot dry summer, watering is necessary, the regularity depends on the soil - it should dry well.

Experienced gardeners suggest removing faded inflorescences and forming a bush by cutting dry, non-aesthetic stems.

After a 5-year stay in one place, it is recommended to rejuvenate phloxes by transplanting them to another place with a revision of the roots, since with age, like all phlox flowers, they lose their decorative effect and can accumulate diseases.

Protection against diseases and pests

All varieties of styloid phlox rarely get sick, but can be affected by powdery mildew, nematodes, caterpillars, slugs and other garden inhabitants and bacteria.

A good prevention against spotting, powdery mildew, and other bacterial and fungal infections are copper-containing preparations, for example, treatment with Bordeaux mixture in early spring and late autumn. If signs of a bacterial disease (spotting) appear, immediately remove the affected parts and burn, treat the bushes with fungicides.

It is necessary to treat flowers with immunomodulators: Fitosporin, Zircon, Ecogel, increasing the plant's resistance to infections.

Mandatory processing planting material(especially imported) protectors Maxim and Vitaros will be able to prevent many troubles.

Combination with other plants

Styloid phloxes are good in single plantings: the floral splendor of varieties selected by shade makes up a combination that is pleasing to the eye, but also in the form of " patchwork quilt' also look good.

They are just as good as color accents, for example, planted in an old stump or in a crevice of a stone wall.

Phloxes are combined with all spring flowers, other ground covers, snapdragons, stonecrops.

Given the decorative emerald green of a dense plexus of stems, phloxes can serve good cover from overheating of the roots and drying up of the soil, such as clematis or lilies. Bright flower lights serve to fill the free space between daylilies and similar single flowers.

Next to the conifers, awl-shaped phloxes are simply irresistible.

Awl-shaped phlox in landscape design

Phlox subulate for landscape designers - this is a godsend. The velvety ground cover is aesthetic even after flowering, it is used by florists in various variations.

An indispensable plant in rock gardens, rocky gardens, microborders, for decorating gardens in various styles.

The planted bushes along the paths are also practical in nature, they do not allow the earth to slide onto the floor, creating an original border.

In flowerpots, phlox takes an ampelous shape and can be used to decorate balconies and terraces.

Floral pillows will create bright accent on the spring lawn.

cultivation different varieties and colors allows you to decorate the site with a minimum of effort and giving free rein to the imagination.

​Related Articles​

The main condition is a large amount of light and solar heat.

Maischnee (Maishnee) - the diameter of a snow-white flower, in the shape of a wheel, is 1.5 cm. Height 8-10 cm. This is the most beautiful and common white variety phlox. Contrasts and complements other colored plants in your garden.​

Phloxes are very often attacked by powdery mildew and various caterpillars that damage the stem of the plant.

Phloxes reproduce vegetatively and by seeds. The easiest and most common way to propagate phlox is to divide the bush.

It is enough to plant young phloxes at a distance of twenty-five centimeters from each other, and in a year they will form a continuous carpet. To speed up the growth process, you need to spread the stems in the right direction. And then fix them well to the ground.

Also, rocky slopes and an alpine slide are perfect for their life.

Many gardeners love awl-shaped phlox because they remain emerald green from spring to autumn, and even under the first snow.

If neither you nor your neighbors have a single bush to cut cuttings, then you can try to grow such a miracle on your plot from seeds. Seeds are usually sown outdoors at the end of winter. Shoots should appear in early spring, and after the development of two or four leaves, the plants are transplanted. It is necessary to monitor the soil, it must be moistened.

For planting styloid phlox, it is better to choose the sunny corners of your flower garden, in partial shade its flowering will not be so plentiful;

Phlox subulate (planting and caring for it do not require special conditions content) can be planted even in autumn. True, it is impossible to delay landing in the ground: if the flowers do not have time to take root, they will die in winter.

Perennial phloxes (styloid) are very loved by gardeners and landscape designers. There is nothing surprising in this: being enough undemanding plants, they have many types of the most diverse colors.

Phlox subulate is considered a plant that loves dryness. The abundance of moisture is harmful to him. Therefore, it is considered a gross mistake to try to grow it in wet areas. Flowers look weak, do not create a green carpet effect and quickly die off.

Nettleto Variegata (Nettleton Variegata) - diameter pink flower equal to 1.7 cm. The height of the carpet is 10 cm. This is a variety with variegated leaves (dark green with a border that changes color from whitish pink to bright pink in the sun).

fb.ru

Phlox subulate

Caterpillar damage can be detected by swirling brownish leaves. Affected areas must be removed immediately.

Phlox care comes down to weeding, rare watering and three times feeding: before flowering, during the period of plant growth, you need to feed with potassium-nitrogen fertilizers, and by the very middle of summer you need to apply mineral fertilizers.

The main requirement when choosing a place for phlox is the presence of light and sun: these plants are very fond of light.

Growing features.

And during flowering, carpets of awl-shaped phloxes are strewn with flowers of a wide variety of shades (white, blue, pink, red) with a continuous carpet.

• That seems to be all the main points. Be sure to try to settle this unpretentious, but such a bewitching plant on your site!
• The soil is preferably sandy or light loam, if the soil is heavy, then sand must be added when planting;
• Planting phlox in autumn

Under natural conditions, phloxes grow in forests, in places with moist soil. They achieve intensive growth and lush flowering by growing in moist nutrient soils.

It is best to grow phlox in a plot where lawn grasses have grown for many years. In no case do not plant phlox after strawberries, as you risk exposing it to a nematode attack. A good solution would be to choose a site where good snow cover is created in winter. Tellaria (Tellaria) - the diameter of lilac flowers in the shape of a star with a carmine center is 2.3 cm. The height of the carpet is 12 cm. The flowering period is quite long.

How to propagate such beauty? And very simple!

If desired, at home, phlox can be propagated by stem cuttings. The cuttings should be cut before the awakening of the kidneys. They must have at least two nodes.​

With a successfully found landing site for phlox, suitable soil and proper care, the flowers will retain their beauty for six years. Phloxes are frost-resistant plants, but in warm winters their leaves can rot.

Since awl-shaped phloxes are drought-resistant, planting them in places with excess moisture is fatal. The best predecessor for phlox is lawn grass, calendula, tagetes and other plants that do not tolerate moisture.

Although the flowers of the creeping phlox themselves are small, their flowering is so rich that greenery is almost invisible under a large number of flowers. And as mentioned above, under favorable climatic conditions, the styloid phlox can bloom again in September.

Phlox subulate does not tolerate damp places and stagnant water in the root area, and also does not like acidic soil.

tomat-pomidor.com

Awl-shaped phlox planting and care in the open field

Flowers are planted along with the stems, cutting off about one third. You can not cut the stems to the very base, otherwise the plant will freeze in winter. Two weeks before planting flowers, they prepare the soil by applying all the necessary fertilizers.

When breeding plants in a garden plot, it is desirable for them to provide the conditions in which they grow in nature. Phloxes should not be planted near fruit trees- they do not really like the shade, besides, the flowers will lack nutrients. Plants have a negative attitude to stagnation of water in the root system, therefore, areas located close to the surface groundwater they don't fit. An ideal place for flowers would be light partial shade, sheltering them from the scorching sun during the hot hours of the day.

plant description

Phlox grows well in loose, depleted and dry places. In too fertile areas, it creates a lot of greenery, but it is not able to bloom profusely. The right decision before planting phloxes, lime will be introduced into the soil, giving it neutrality.

Temiscaming (Temiscaming) - the diameter of a bright dark crimson flower is 2.0 cm. It grows 15 cm high. It grows actively, which ultimately gives a very dense carpet with beautiful dark reddish leaves. Propagated well by cuttings.

Plant and buy only healthy and high-quality planting material. How to choose seedlings read here.​

When propagated by cuttings, phloxes are planted in the spring, at the beginning of the appearance of shoots. In a plant - the uterus breaks off shoots six centimeters long.

In view of which, plants completely lose their decorative effect, but with proper care they can recover. The addition of humus will promote rapid growth and abundant flowering.​

You can not plant this type of flower, for example, after strawberries. Like all evergreens, it is advisable to plant the styloid phlox in places where there is a lot of snow in winter.

In Europe, varieties of styloid phlox first appeared in England. After that, phlox became very popular and began to be grown even in noble English gardens.

The styloid phlox acquired its name due to the shape of the leaves: narrow, hard, pointed. In the common people, it was called carpet, because it spreads along the ground, and in its geographical homeland it is called moss carnation.

It should also be borne in mind that if you overfeed the plant with nitrogen fertilizers, this will lead to the growth of a large mass of shoots and leaves, and flowering will be weak. Therefore, it is desirable to feed the styloid phlox with complex water-soluble fertilizers 2-3 times - in the spring and during the season.

If it turned out that you did not have time to plant phloxes on time, do not be upset, the plants can be saved. You should find a secluded place, protected from wind and drafts, and carefully dig the flowers to a depth of about 25 cm. For the winter, the seedlings must be covered with peat or fallen leaves.

Phlox styloid, planted and cared for properly, has virtually no problems with flowering. Despite their unpretentiousness, plants, of course, need basic care.

Before planting, weed vegetation should be well removed so that in the future it does not violate the external beauty of the flower planting with its appearance. Yes, and weeding must be organized in a timely manner, without starting the landing. You can plant young plants with an interval of thirty centimeters, and in a couple of years you are guaranteed to get a beautiful green carpet. All that will be needed is to lay out the leaves of the plants in the right directions to speed up the process of landscaping the site.

Thank you for your attention and write comments!​

Phlox location

Aurora (Aurora) - a flower with a diameter of 2.4 cm, star-shaped, the color is almost white with a pale pink tint. During flowering, it resembles snowdrifts 12 cm high.

These cuttings take root quite quickly and by the autumn full-bodied plants grow from them. Cuttings should be planted in boxes or on beds with fertilized soil, with a layer of river sand, cuttings are watered daily.

Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that it is not recommended to overfeed these phloxes, otherwise the plants will simply “leave”, that is, the tops will be beautiful and powerful, but you will hardly see flowers. An idea about why plants bloom, read here.​

Phloxes will thrive in loose, dry soils. On fertile soil, they will form more greenery than flowers.

In 1746, the famous traveler and plant collector Farrer brought several varieties of moss cloves to his homeland. He called this event a successful discovery for floriculture.

This plant grows in the USA to North Carolina and west to Michigan; in the wild, a flower can often be found on rocky and sandy hills.

soil for the plant

Caring for the styloid phlox is quite simple.

Phlox subulate, planting and caring for which is done correctly, turns into a tall one over time beautiful bush With bright inflorescences, blooming for a sufficiently long period of time.

If you decide to breed phloxes on your site, then it is better to prepare the soil in advance, in the fall. Flowers are usually planted in the spring, after the soil has thawed. The most important requirement for the land in which flowers will grow is moisture and essential nutrients.​

Planting a styloid phlox

They are quite simple and known to everyone: - weeding the site, - watering, - top dressing.

Phlox owes its name to the shape of its leaves - narrow, harsh to the touch, with points resembling a small awl. The people call him carpet or creeping. Consider the awl-shaped phlox - planting and care, perennial phlox do not need much care, they can grow even among stony screes and dry sandy hills.

Amazing Grace (Amazin Grace) - the diameter of a white flower with a bright purple eye is 1.8 cm. This variety grows up to 12 cm in height.

For propagation of rare varieties of phlox, green cuttings or one leaf are used. Leaves before budding are separated from the plant with part of the stem.

Phlox care

Feeding with wood ash, which contains all the necessary trace elements, but does not contain nitrogen, will not interfere. Take half a kilogram of ash and pour three liters of boiling water. Let this solution cool down. Dilute it in 10-12 liters of water and use it as a foliar top dressing for phlox, and as a natural insecticide that destroys most pests of this plant.

In the wild, they grow on poor soils. Everyone knows that in Moscow and the Moscow Region the soils are rather acidic, in such soil they will lack macroelements, and for example, there are microelements in an alkaline environment, therefore, the soil is limed before planting phloxes.

Little by little, flower growers created new forms of phlox that appeared as a result of hybridization. Today, the ancestors of the current styloid phlox no longer exist.

In height, an evergreen plant, creeping along the ground with a dense rug, can reach up to twenty centimeters.

- This is timely weeding, watering and top dressing. After spring flowering, you can arrange a light haircut for the bush, this will provoke the growth of many side shoots, which will make your bush even more fluffy. About once every 5 years, the bushes need to be rejuvenated, because over time the stems become woody, the leaves die off and bald spots appear.

Such different phloxes ...

After planting, phlox should be watered abundantly. Then, when the flowers take root, it is recommended to feed them with a weak solution of mullein.

As a rule, it is necessary to feed before the onset of flowering, when the plant is most active. The best solution will be the use of nitrogen-potassium compounds. But minerals can be added no earlier than the middle of the summer period.

Phlox reaches a height of about fifteen centimeters. Germinating, it creates constantly green dense rugs. Stems procumbent, covered with small narrow leaves. Each stem has a peduncle for one or two flowers. Phlox flowering begins in mid-May and lasts until the second half of June. The second stage, which is no longer so abundant, runs from August to September.​

reproduction

G. F. Wilson (G. F. Wilson) - the diameter of a light blue flower, in the shape of a star, is 1.8 cm. This is probably the most common vigorous variety (carpet height up to 20 cm). It grows and reproduces beautifully.

The lower half of the sheet with the heel is dug obliquely into wet sand beds or reconnaissance box, covered with glass, and sprayed from time to time. Well-rooted cuttings soon give small shoots, which are planted in the ground in the spring.

In the northern parts, where plants need shelter for the winter, it is necessary to use coniferous spruce branches (it does not acidify the earth).

Depending on the type of soil, the dose of limestone may vary from 230-440 grams per square meter. Most often used for liming dolomite flour. On heavy soils, sand must be added before planting.

Grow in our gardens garden hybrids that have appeared over the centuries. Unfortunately, there are no domestic styloid phloxes - apparently due to the fact that this species does not form seeds.

The stems of the plant are very densely covered with small and short, narrow and stiff leaves. Each stem has one - two flowers with a diameter of twenty-five millimeters.

The most common way to propagate styloid phlox is to simply divide an adult bush into several parts in early spring. By autumn, the "kids" will not differ much from mother plant.​

I can very well imagine what associations the word “phlox” will cause for many. Grandmother's front garden with bright hats of flowers immediately comes to mind - the well-known phlox paniculata. But today we will talk about an equally beautiful "relative" - ​​the styloid phlox.

Phlox subulate, planting and caring for which do not provide the moisture it needs, grows low, has small inflorescences, and their number is very small. Such plants bloom very quickly.

If the site selection is carried out correctly and proper care is organized, then the awl-shaped phlox will always reciprocate, and will gratefully retain its green freshness for at least five years.

Diseases and pests

In its original form, the styloid phlox is rare. Its various garden molds and varieties with a large number of varieties. Blooms create beautiful decorations for rocky hills, walls, arbors, suitable for borders.​

Dujmovotcshka (Thumbelina) - the leaves are dark green, the diameter of the flower is rich pink, with a dark carmine center, 1.6 cm. It grows beautifully.

By autumn, they become full-fledged plants.

Dry leaves for shelter for wintering phloxes will not work, they can only be used for plants with non-wintering leaves.

Varieties

Since the root system of phloxes is rather shallow, plants can use a small amount of land.

All we have is foreign varieties and hybrids produced in England, Holland, USA, Germany, France.

Color can be different: pink, red, white, purple, lilac.

If more planting material is required, then there is another fairly simple way - to cut the cuttings. If you use cuttings with a "heel", then it is better to do this in early spring, when young shoots begin to grow. Cuttings up to 6 cm long are carefully separated from the mother plant, placed in a light permeable substrate and built something like a greenhouse. For this purpose, you can use an ordinary plastic bag.

Phlox subulata (Phlox subulata lat.) is a perennial groundcover. It received this name due to its narrow, awl-like leaves, which densely cover creeping stems. During the flowering period, white, pink, lilac, blue flowers up to 2 cm in diameter almost completely hide the foliage. The duration of flowering is 30-45 days.​

Phlox subulate: cultivation and care

The plant belongs to cold-resistant species, but if the winter is quite warm, then the leaves of the flowers may rot. Plants in this case lose their appearance, but with proper care they quickly recover.

The main advantage of these flowers is the ability to maintain their greenery even under snow cover. And even the small sizes of flowers are capable of charmingly decorating such a green lawn with their abundance.

Coral Eye (Coral Ai) - the diameter of a light pink flower with a carmine center, in the shape of a star, is 2.0 cm. It grows beautifully (carpet height up to 12 cm) and multiplies.

Seed propagation is practiced little. Seeds are sown in autumn in open ground. In early spring, seedlings sprout from the ground in a friendly row, which, with the development of the first leaves, dive.

In the spring, to help phloxes wake up faster, you can pour them with a solution of humate, this will accelerate their growth and root development.

fruittree.ru

Phlox subulate - planting and care, perennial phlox

During the preparation of the soil for planting, you need to carefully pull out the weeds, as they will grow through the turf, and thereby ruin the whole look of the flower garden.

What is a phlox plant

The subulate phlox is unpretentious and plastic, can grow even in the most difficult conditions growth.​

This plant blooms for the first time very abundantly from mid-May to almost the end of June, the second time it blooms less generously in August and September.

Periodically, the “cutting plant” needs to be ventilated and monitor the soil moisture. Such cuttings take root very quickly and turn into full-fledged plants by autumn.

Rules for planting perennial phlox

​View flowering bush styloid phlox literally fascinates and attracts attention. In plantings, it is used for flower beds, alpine slides, discounts, mixborders. Small curtains can decorate the edges of the paths and the border of the lawn. The awl-shaped phlox of different colors looks very elegant against the background of conifers and plants with decorative foliage. And this species received the name “awl-shaped” thanks to the leaves, which have a needle-like appearance. In order for the flowers to please with their splendor for a long time and have a decorative appearance, they must be fed. Phloxes respond very well to top dressing from wood ash containing potassium and lime. Thanks to such elements, the brightness of the inflorescences increases, in addition, they become more resistant to diseases.

Having considerable experience in landscaping garden plots, over time I have identified several plants that can always be used - regardless of the shape, type and style of the site. One of these plants is the styloid phlox.

This groundcover looks appropriate in any garden. In the article I will share my knowledge about this plant, tell you how to plant styloid phlox and how to care for it.

The styloid phlox is a representative of the Sinyukov family: it is a perennial ground cover undersized shrub. It reaches a height of 15-17 cm, but there are varieties with a height of only 5 cm. You can also find quite tall varieties on sale, reaching 21 cm.

The stem is creeping, adjacent to the ground. It is quite hard, has a characteristic greenish color. During the growing season, the stem grows up to half a meter. Since the plant is a ground cover, the stem releases roots from its internodes: in this way, the area is quickly filled with flowers.

The leaves go evenly along the entire length of the stem, are green in color, small in size. The name "styloid" in phlox appeared precisely because of the shape of the leaves - it resembles an awl.

The flowers are small, reaching only 2-2.5 cm in diameter. There are always five petals. When open, the petals form a corolla. Coloring is usually the following: white, blue, lilac, pink, purple, cream. There are more rare colors, two-tone.

The flowers have a pleasant smell. Perennial phloxes bloom in late spring-early summer, and may bloom a second time in August-September.

Varieties

For the first time, styloid phlox was grown in England. And already from this country the plant spread throughout Europe. Species phloxes (ancestors) are not currently used in ornamental horticulture - they are used only for breeding work.

Numerous species hybrids are used to decorate landscape designs - varieties are bred in large numbers by breeders. Let's get acquainted with the most popular varieties of styloid phlox in our country.

Candy Strapes

The plant is famous for its spectacular and original coloring: a distinctly visible pink stripe is clearly visible on the white background of the petals. The bush is low, grows up to 10 cm. Its flowering is plentiful and rather long. Moreover, flowers appear almost all at the same time - a continuous carpet is thus formed on the site. Photo on the site.

Emerald Cushon Blue

This plant is distinguished by a wonderful shade of petals: a delicate violet-bluish. The shrub blooms profusely, filling the allotted area completely. Behind the flowers, even the stems and leaves are usually not visible. In addition, the plant has a very pleasant, rich aroma.

Emerald Pink

Variety of the previous variety. The difference is the color of the petals: in Emerald Pink it is bright pink, sometimes reddish, the middle is raspberry. All other features are identical to the Cushon Blue variety.

Scarlet Flame

The plant has large flowers, reaching a diameter of 2.5 cm. The color of the petals is rich pink, very bright and attractive. It reaches a height of 15 cm, blooms twice a season: in June and September. Next, we will find out what nuances planting and caring for the plant have.

Growing conditions

We will find out in what conditions the styloid phlox will feel best.

Place

It is best to plant the plant in a sunny area, abundantly lit. In partial shade, phlox can also bloom well, but subject to moderately moist soil. But it is not recommended to plant a flower in the shade: it will not be able to demonstrate all its magnificence without the sun.

The soil

A bed for phloxes should be well-drained: the plant categorically does not tolerate stagnant moisture. The soil must be loose: dense clay soil must first be mixed with sand.

Do not plant phloxes in a lowland: stagnant moisture can lead to rotting of the flower roots. But in poor and even stony soil, styloid phlox can grow quite safely.

seedling preparation

The styloid phlox is usually grown from seeds. And so that by the time of planting in the ground the plant is already stronger, seedlings are first germinated at home.

Sowing seeds is carried out in March: the seeds are planted in common large containers, boxes. Since the seeds are small, they are not buried, but simply distributed as evenly as possible on the ground.

You should cover the seeds a little with soil, but not much. The box is placed on the windowsill, but shaded from the direct sun. The substrate must be moistened with a spray bottle. When 3-4 leaves appear on the seedlings, the seedlings are ready to be placed in the garden.

You can plant a shift without preliminary seedlings, immediately into the ground - usually such a planting is done in the fall. During the winter, the seeds will naturally harden and in the spring the most viable ones will sprout.

Related video:

Landing

Dig holes for plants before planting. The bottom must be filled with drainage in the form of expanded clay, pebbles. A mixture of soil with ash and humus is laid out on the drainage.

The roots of the planting material are dipped in a solution of Kornevin or Epin, and then planted at a distance of 30 cm from each other. Such a decent distance is justified by the fact that phlox is a creeping flower and you need to leave room for the development of its creeping stems.

If planting is done in damp spring land, you can additionally not water the plants. However, if the earth has already dried out, be sure to moisten the soil after planting.

Planting material should be covered with a film or agrofibre from above and thus left for several days (maximum a week) for rooting.

Important: the styloid phlox produces a lot of seeds, so plants can safely reproduce on the site and self-seeding.

The division of the bush

This breeding is well suited for heavily overgrown phlox. You can divide the bush in spring or in autumn. The plant tolerates the procedure well and easily takes root in a new place.

An adult flower is completely dug out of the ground and divided into several particles. It is important that each part has its own roots. After division, the particles are immediately seated in the designated places.

How to care

Consider the main points for the care of styloid phlox.

watering

The plant must be watered moderately - waterlogging is important to avoid. Phlox will easily endure a short-term drought, without even losing its decorative effect.

Waterlogging is much more problematic, which can even lead to the death of plants. Watering is therefore carried out only after the top layer of the earth has noticeably dried out.

If the summer is dry, it is permissible to water once every 2-3 days, the rest of the time - once a week.

Weeding

The first time they clean the bed before planting phloxes. And then the procedures are repeated after watering: weeds are easily removed from the moist soil with roots.

top dressing

During the growing season, creeping phlox is fed several times. Competent top dressing will help the plant grow stronger, prolong its flowering, and increase immunity. Manure solution is optimal for top dressing: 25 ml of fertilizer per bucket of water. Mineral complexes are also used.

pruning

The procedure is usually carried out in the spring. Pruning is aimed at forming a beautiful compact bush. If you prune in summer or autumn, you can inadvertently cut off the buds, and thus make future flowering more rare.

Diseases and pests

In general, needle phlox is resistant to various lesions and diseases. Subject to agricultural technology, more than a flower is extremely rare. However, when grown in waterlogged conditions, it can suffer from fungal diseases.

powdery mildew

The disease manifests itself as a whitish coating on the vegetative part of the plant. Eliminate the problem by spraying blue vitriol and Bordeaux mixture.

Rust

This disease is expressed as characteristic rusty-brown spots on the foliage. Destroy pathogens with Topaz.

fomoz

Pathology causes the foliage to wilt and leads to the fragility of the shoots. Cope with misfortune by spraying plants with a solution of colloidal sulfur.

stem nematodes

These small pests lead to the loss of color in the leaves and stems, slowing down the growth and development of the flower. It is completely impossible to exterminate them, since nematodes appear from the soil. However, if the soil is properly prepared, the likelihood of pests can be greatly minimized.

Use in design

Phlox subulate is a ground cover plant, so it is logical that it is used in landscape design mainly to fill voids in the area. The plant quickly fills the space, transforming the garden, cultivating it.

The flower is also suitable for growing in mixboards, rockeries. Looks good on Alpine rollercoaster, besides, phlox grows well in stony soil.

You can also use a flower as a border plant: they can border garden paths, arbors, flower beds, flower beds. The plant also looks good in hanging containers: on the balcony, terrace, porch.

Phlox carpet looks great on the background coniferous plants. Compositions with other ground covers also look chic: stonecrop, cereals, bells, juveniles, etc.

So, we learned what kind of plant the styloid phlox is. This ground cover flower is able to turn the site into a solid bright carpet. Growing a phlox is not difficult, and caring for it will not require much trouble - even a beginner will cope with the task.

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. blooming carpet 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:

1. "Candy Stripes". White flower with a pink stripe in the center.
2. "Tellaria". Lilac, in the form of an asterisk. Blooms for a very long time.
3. "Maishnee". Dazzling white flower, one of the most common.
4. "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 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. Cover with extra 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:

1. End of spring: 25 g liquid manure per 10 liters of water.
2. The beginning of June. The same, but with the addition of superphosphate.
3. Early July. Liquid manure without additives.
4. 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 spring processing 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. By intelligently 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

1. Like a lawn. Especially suitable for decorating large areas in the garden.
2. On alpine slides and in rockeries. Here, phloxes will decorate the tops, as well as smooth out uneven slopes.
3. To create borders along the arbors, paths in the garden.
4. In mixborders (mixed flower beds). The styloid phlox will look better in the foreground.
5. In between paths lined with stones or slabs, and on stone steps.
6. 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 find out which is right for you, take a look 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 be a wonderful decoration for any garden plot. 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 huge variety of varieties have been bred. different varieties plants.

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

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

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 they previously grew perennial crops- 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?

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

Seeds of slox styloid

cuttings

1. crop apical stalk creeping shoot, you can also use a broken stem;
2. Remove lower leaves from a cutting;
3. Rooting occurs when kept in room temperature in a pot with fertile soil;
4. 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?

1. The plant is dug up;
2. They shake off the earth from the earthen coma;
3. Every division must have developed roots;
4. 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 that the plants be dug out of the soil and destroyed, and the soil should be treated 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 good 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. 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 pinkish with a reddish tint, and the center stands out in crimson.

Scarlet Flame

Phlox subulate "Scarlet flame"

The flowers of Scarlet Flame are quite large, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, they are very bright, saturated, 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.

1. 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 is used by the 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 a 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 be planted in a permanent place in the ground.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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 the plant must be observed in order to achieve its 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 for a semi-shrub they prepare landing pit. 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 into 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 planted plants are 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 the top layer of the soil dries out. 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 a 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 use Bordeaux liquid, and also carry out the treatment with "Topaz" before and after the end of 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 vibrant lawns. Given the low growth of the plant, it looks good as borders that decorate garden paths or grow between the tiles of the track.
Phlox is appropriate in flower beds and flowerpots, in single plantings, in combination with other flowers (sedum, Snapdragon, bell) 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.

styloid phlox - 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 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 due to the fact that 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 giving.

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 phlox 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 - must be limed. 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 fertilization 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 better ways top dressing - 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

Find for your flower garden unpretentious and at the same time beautiful plant sometimes it is difficult, moreover, it is desirable that it grows intensively and decorates empty areas. Phlox subulate falls under all these criteria.

Its homeland is North America, where it can be found on sandy hills or in the slight shade of bushes. In Europe, the first varieties of styloid phlox were first brought to England, and then were transported to other countries. In this article, we will consider the rules for growing and caring for styloid phlox.

Phlox - the Latin name, which "Phlox", refers to the Sinyukhov family, among more than 80 varieties of this plant there is also a subulate. It got its name because of the shape of the leaves, they are narrow, pointed and hard at the tips, each looks like a small awl. This species is also called carpet or creeping, in America the flower is also known as "moss carnation".

Phlox subulate is often used in landscape design, its photo is often found in the catalogs of famous designers. The stem of the flower can be miniature and reach a height of only 25 cm, while its taller varieties grow up to 120 cm.

The colors of this plant are the most diverse, there are pure white flowers, bluish, lilac, pink, red and some shades of purple, and certain groups of the plant in question are bicolor.

Low-growing varieties tightly cover the ground and form a continuous carpet, which is often sown in empty places in large flower beds, or decorate the foot of alpine hills with it.

On the stems there are short internodes, densely covered with narrow leaves, the length of which barely exceeds 2 cm, to top it off, the stems end with peduncles, on which there are from one to two peduncles. Each of them has 5-7 funnel-shaped flowers, they do not exceed 25 mm in diameter.

Phlox subulate - perennial, the flowering period of which falls in the spring, it begins in mid-May, and lasts until the end of June. The plant begins to bloom again in August-September.

When phloxes have fully reached their flowering peak, their foliage is almost invisible behind a whole cap of opened inflorescences. And after flowering, the bush is also of interest to connoisseurs of well-groomed flower beds, as its stems remain green all autumn and even under snowdrifts.

For four years, the bush does not require special care and pleases with its flowers at a certain time. And after five years, despite the fact that the plant is a perennial, it needs to be updated. This procedure is inevitable, as the flower immediately becomes lethargic and highly susceptible to disease.

Choice of location and conditions of detention

Phloxes are unpretentious and peaceful flowers that have a weak root, so planting them near plants with a highly developed root system is not worth it, they will not be able to survive in such conditions.

Lighting and location

For planting awl-shaped phlox, it is better to choose sunny places, although areas located in partial shade will also suit him. In order to get from it the most striking manifestations of decorative value, it is worth creating conditions for it that would be closest to natural.

A suitable environment for them will be rocky slopes and sandy hills, which will be well lit from all sides. The plant is light-loving by nature, it is not necessary to plant very tall flowers in dense rows near it.

Before choosing a planting site, you should know that a flower can react differently to its predecessors. There are both positive and negative plants that affect them, the roots or diseases of which, after digging, can remain in the ground and affect the condition of the phlox.

Temperature

The plant shows high resistance to low temperatures, it can be safely left without digging for the winter. If during the flowering period low temperatures are observed at night, then the flowers will not lose their decorative effect and will delight their gardeners almost all summer.

In very cold or snowless winters, the plant needs to be covered. But as soon as the temperature rises a little, it is immediately necessary to free it from the insulating layer, otherwise it will rot, and it will not be possible to rehabilitate it.

Air and humidity

The styloid phlox endures periods of drought, but if they are long, it may lose its decorative appeal, in order to avoid this, regular watering should be provided to the flower. But in this case, you do not need to overdo it, since the plant does not tolerate stagnant moisture, its roots under such conditions can rot.

Waterlogging adversely affects the plant. Novice gardeners do not take this into account and flood the newly planted plant, which causes irreparable damage to it. Because of this, the plant may not give the expected continuous carpet, and in the worst case, it will simply die.

Priming

Phlox can be successfully grown on any type of soil, but sandy soil is considered the best for it, in which substrates are not stingy. The main thing is that they have high aeration properties and be dry, their pH should be neutral.

If the site chosen for them is highly acidic, then many the flower needs trace elements will not be available, and if it enters an alkaline environment, it will not be able to get enough of the necessary trace elements. This can be corrected if the open ground under the phloxes is limed.

The dosage of lime is calculated depending on the type of soil chosen, on average it can be from 200 to 400 g / m 2. Liming can be carried out with dolomite or lime flour, which will need to be mixed with the soil. In heavy soils, it is imperative to introduce sand right before planting the plant.

In the case of fertile soil, phloxes form a lot of greenery, but bloom little.

Landing

The planting depth of phlox seedlings should be no deeper than 15 cm, since the roots of the plant develop under the very top layer soil.

When planting, it should be borne in mind that the plant grows in small bushes with a diameter of 20 to 30 cm, this distance must be laid between the seeds. The landing process consists of several stages:

1. It is better to dig up the area chosen for flowers in the fall, and in the spring only loosen it to a shallow depth of 5 to 15 cm.
2. Select all remaining roots and plant residues from past years, especially if they are weeds. If they remain, then after the development of the plant it will be difficult to remove them through dense thickets of phlox.
3. Young plants are planted at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other, it is not necessary to make large holes for irrigation.
4. To speed up the growth of the flower carpet, it is necessary to spread the stems over the entire surface of the soil around the rhizomes of the plant, pin and sprinkle them. This will help organize the rapid growth of the shoots and ensure their strong branching.

Care

For this plant, it is imperative to arrange regular weeding, and also do not forget about timely watering and feeding.

Watering

Immediately after planting the plant for two weeks, you need to provide it with regular watering at least once every three days. Further watering is necessary when it becomes clear that the flowers begin to close a little. If you overdo it and strongly moisten the plant, then its roots located in the immediate vicinity of the topsoil can rot.

At the same time, if you do not provide the phlox with the necessary watering, they grow low, flowering begins earlier, but the buds become noticeably smaller, which affects the decorativeness of the plant.

On average, the irrigation rate on hot days is from 15 to 20 liters of water per 1 m 2. In autumn, watering stops, and the upper stems of the plant are cut off.

top dressing

With a moderate introduction of humus, an increased flowering of the plant begins, in addition, it begins to grow intensively, but in case of overfeeding, its flowers will be sluggish.

The feeding scheme of the styloid phlox consists in the application of certain fertilizers at various stages of their development:

• during the setting of buds, the introduction of potassium-phosphorus additives is required;
• after flowering, in order to support the plant, mineral fertilizers are added to the soil around it;
• top dressing with humate will help the plant to restore strength after wintering.

A universal remedy for phloxes, which is used for feeding them and in pest control, is an ash solution. Unlike other fertilizers, it is the most useful, as it contains all the macro- and microelements necessary for flowers. They can be used at any time, as soon as it becomes noticeable that something is wrong with the plant.

The preparation of the solution is as follows: 350 grams of ash is poured with 2 liters of ordinary water, and then the mixture is boiled over a fire, brought to a boil, and after 10 minutes it is removed from the stove. After cooling the solution, it is filtered and diluted in 10 liters of water. A mixture of wood ash is used for external and root dressing.

It is impossible to abuse top dressing, as the plant will increase the formation of green shoots, but there will be fewer inflorescences.

There is also a monthly fertilizer application scheme:

• at the end of May - a solution prepared from 10 liters of water and 25 grams of liquid manure;
• at the beginning of June - the same solution combined with superphosphate;
• in early July - liquid manure itself without impurities;
• at the end of July, potassium-phosphorus top dressing is applied.

Fertilization is best done in the evening.

Pinching, pinching, pruning

Pruning of bushes must be done at least twice a year so that young shoots do not grow chaotically. It is better to prune at the beginning of spring and at the end of summer, but not in autumn, since it is then that flower buds are laid in the plant and they can be cut off unknowingly. This will lead to a lack of flowers next year. It is best to trim phloxes immediately after they bloom.

Loosening, mulching

If you mulch the soil with humus in the fall, then in the summer you can do without fertilizing, the plant will develop normally anyway. When loosening the soil, you can make a mixed top dressing of humus and wood ash. It is desirable to loosen the soil after weeding or watering the plant.

Transfer

It is performed at the request of the gardener, when he needs to decorate his plot with phlox, or when the bush has grown strongly and blocks access to light for other plants. In other cases, rejuvenation of the bush is required, it must be carried out every five years.

reproduction

It can be done in several ways:

• The division of the bush. The simplest and most common method is to get several flowering islands of phlox on your site. To do this, a whole overgrown bush is dug up, which is neatly divided into how many parts, while each of them should have its own root system. It is best to carry out this procedure in the spring.
• cuttings. Accidentally or purposefully torn off branches or shoots can act as planting material, which should be added dropwise until a bark system is obtained in shady areas.
• Pinning shoots. Shoots coming straight from the bush are leaned close to the ground and fixed with staples. Over time, roots will appear on them, and part of the rooted area can be cut off from the mother bush to plant on its own.
• Seeds. This perennial can be sown in the same way as other crops directly into the ground; it is planted in prepared soil in the fall. In order to get seedlings in the spring, which you need to pinch as soon as 2 leaves appear on it.

Diseases and pests

The most problematic for the styloid phlox is powdery mildew, and also he cannot cope with the raids of the caterpillars on his own.

In the fight against pests and diseases, various purchased products are used, as well as folk recipes, the main thing is to recognize the disease in time and prevent its spread throughout the bush.

Tips for caring for a diseased plant:

• powdery mildew appears as white plaque, which can be eliminated by mixing laundry soap, grated with water and spraying the flower with this mixture;
• the caterpillar lesion becomes clearly visible from the twisted leaves and brown coating on them; in the fight against such an invasion, the purchased Topaz drug is used;
• variegation manifests itself in the form of the appearance of stripes on the flowers, which is why the plant must be immediately destroyed so that this viral disease is not transmitted to other planted phloxes;
• rust, it can be seen when several flowers change their color to dark, when faced with it, it is necessary to remove the affected leaves and flowers, and spray the rest of the plant with copper sulphate.

Wintering

The styloid phlox is a frost-resistant plant that does not need to be dug up for the winter. It does not need to be covered for the winter, but in the northern regions it should be insulated with spruce branches, but dry leaves and rags will not work.

Phlox subulate occupies a special place in landscape design. In the spring, many garden shops offer this flower in pots, after purchase, you can decorate your flower garden with it. The plant does not require special rooting and care, and by the end of summer it will cover the entire area allotted for it with a solid carpet.