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Perennial ground cover phloxes are highly valued by summer residents and gardeners for their good decorative properties. The plant is represented by many varieties, it is interesting to study the most popular of them.
Benefits of growing creeping phlox
Creeping phlox is often used to decorate the landscape due to several advantages:
- An ornamental perennial plant forms a very beautiful soil cover.
- The ground cover culture thrives on poor soil.
- Perennial grows not only in horizontal areas, but also on slopes.
- Ground cover phlox blooms early and enters the time of full decorativeness already in May or June, one of the first.
- Many species of perennial ground cover phlox retain their bright green leaf color even in winter.
Creeping phlox blooms in late spring
Perennial does not have strict requirements for care and reproduces very well.
Types and varieties of perennial ground cover phlox
Ground cover perennial is represented by dozens of varieties with different shades of flowering and stem height. There are several known varieties.
Bifurcated phlox
This species is able to rise up to 15 cm above the ground. Its stems are firm and slightly pubescent, elongated thin leaves reach 5 cm in length. The plant can bloom, depending on the variety, with white, lilac and purple flowers.
Forked phlox has very unusual petals.
Phlox Douglas
It grows naturally on rocky soils and in rocks, forming bright white or purple carpets. Phlox Douglas has small leaves, no more than 2 cm, and a dark eye is located in the core of the flowers. In height, Douglas phlox rises to 12 cm, usually blooms at the end of May.
Phlox Douglas loves rocky areas
Splayed phlox
A wide-spread perennial phlox is capable of growing up to 30 cm. Its stems spread along the ground, but form ascending shoots. Small flowers resemble spread scutes.
The spread-out look is a fairly tall groundcover
Candy Stripes
The ground cover phlox variety has an unusual color - its flowers are white, but with a wide pink stripe in the center of each petal. Above the soil, Candy Stripes rises only 10 cm, flowers are small in diameter, about 2 cm. It blooms profusely and luxuriantly in May.
Candy Stripes - a variety with two-tone petals
Bavaria
Bavaria produces white flowers with a deep purple core in May and June. It rises 15 cm above the ground level, subulate thin leaves retain their decorative effect until frost. Bavaria prefers to grow in sunny areas and is characterized by increased frost resistance.
In the center of the flowers of Bavaria there is a purple eye
Nettleton Variegata
A low-growing perennial can grow no more than 10 cm above the ground.The flowers are small, about 1.5 cm, pink in color. The variety attracts special attention due to the unusual color of the leaves, they are dark green, but along the edge there is a narrow whitish-pink border.
The variety Nettleton Variegata has a decorative leaf color
Atropurpurea
The ground cover variety rises about 10 cm above the ground and produces star-shaped flowers in May or June. The flowers are purple-scarlet in shade. Differs in frost resistance, tolerates drought well.
Atropurpurea has a rich red bloom
Crimson Beauty
Groundcover Crimson Beauty forms a lush carpet up to 15 cm high above the ground. The flowers of the variety are pink, with crimson strokes extending from the core. Flowering occurs in late spring.
Crimson Beauty - pink variety with a raspberry heart
Tellaria
A perennial ground cover variety with subulate green leaves, stems up to 12 cm in height and lilac flowers with a crimson eye in the center. Flowering occurs in mid-May and lasts about a month. Phlox Tellaria loves sunlight and easily tolerates a lack of moisture.
In the center, near the lilac flowers of Tellaria, there is a crimson eye
Red Wings
Red Wings blooms in late May and is abundantly covered with bright pink flowers with a dark red heart. In height, the perennial plant rises by about 15 cm. It prefers dry soils and an abundance of sunlight, tolerates frosts and droughts well.
Red Wings blooms with beautiful dark pink flowers
Bonita
Ground cover phlox Bonita in height does not exceed 15 cm. It forms a very lush carpet on the surface of the earth, and at the end of May it blooms with bright pink flowers with a dark heart-shaped. It tolerates winter cold well, is undemanding to cultivation, even on dry soils with a lack of moisture, the perennial blooms profusely.
Bonita blooms in a deep pink color
Siberian
This species of perennial phlox is considered rare, prone to extinction, and grows wild in Siberia. Winter-hardy, tolerates frosts below -35 ° C. Plant height is about 15 cm, its leaves are elongated, about 6 cm in length.
Siberian phlox is a rare valuable perennial species
Flowers are small and solitary, white, light pink or lilac shades. It blooms in early summer and remains decorative for 30 days.
Violet Pinwills
The ground cover variety Violet Pinuils has unusual flowers - the petals have small denticles at the ends and, in general, are a bit like helicopter blades. Purple-violet in shade, flowering occurs from mid-May.
Violet Pinuils is a beautiful purple variety
Violet Pinuils thrives in dry, lit areas and forms a cover up to 15 cm in height.
Thumbelina
The perennial variety Thumbelina is prone to rapid growth, forms a green sod above the soil surface about 15 in height. The flowers of Thumbelina are of a delicate and cold pink hue, the variety acquires the maximum decorative effect at the end of May.
Thumbelina is a very short ground cover plant
Maischnee
Maischnee is a very beautiful ground cover phlox with snow-white blooms in late spring. The flowers of the variety are wheel-shaped, up to 1.5 cm wide, the height of the plant does not exceed 15 cm. Against the background of the dark greenery of other plants, it looks very bright and decorative.
Maischnee features a snow-white bloom
Lilac cloud
The perennial variety blooms profusely in May and early June, producing brilliant purple flowers. At first it looks very bright, towards the end of flowering it begins to turn pink. Forms a beautiful carpet up to 10 cm high.
Lilac Cloud - a variety with a delicate purple tint towards the end of flowering
Crackerjack
The Crackerjack phlox grows no higher than 10 cm and produces star-shaped flowers in May and June. The shade of the flowers is saturated, purple-crimson.
Crackerjack produces bright crimson flowers
The use of creeping phlox in design
Groundcover phlox is widely used in garden design.First of all, it covers unoccupied areas of space and creates a beautiful background.
A perennial plant is used:
- as part of rocky gardens and alpine hills;
Perennial grows well on alpine slides
- for decorating curbs, slopes and low hedges;
The plant gracefully decorates ledges and borders
- for decorating the shores of small reservoirs;
A creeping perennial can grow near water
- to revitalize the space in coniferous plantings and on flower beds with perennials;
Groundcover phlox can be combined with other plants
- to create bright islands in a green lawn.
Perennial revives the plain green of the lawn
Ground cover phlox looks good both in the center of the composition and in the background. The unpretentiousness of plants allows them to be used in almost any area.
Breeding features
Ground cover phlox of any variety is easy to propagate in the garden. Several methods can be used:
- Dividing the bush - the method is suitable for adult perennial phlox, in spring or late autumn you need to dig up the plant and divide it into several separate parts.
The creeping plant is easily divided by the rhizome
- Layers - a very convenient way, since the shoots of perennial phlox are located close to the ground. The selected shoot needs to be slightly buried in the ground for the whole summer, and in the fall it will give roots.
Layers of a creeping perennial take root in one season
- Cuttings. A groundcover perennial plant readily propagates by cuttings cut in early spring or summer; when rooting in the spring in August, phlox will be suitable for planting in the ground.
Groundcover cuttings take root quickly
Planting and caring for ground cover phlox
Growing creeping phlox does not require much effort from the gardener. The main thing is to choose a good place and provide the culture with plenty of light and moderate watering.
Recommended timing
Perennial creeping phlox is usually planted in late April or early May. Since the plant begins to bloom early, it is important to rooting up to this point.
Site selection and soil preparation
Ground cover perennials prefer to grow in sunny warm areas with light shading. In the bright direct sun, their petals often fade, however, a deep shadow harms the plants - they bloom worse.
It is better to choose light, neutral or alkaline, loamy or sandy loam soil for creeping perennials. It is important to provide plants with high-quality drainage - creeping phlox do not like stagnant moisture. It is optimal to plant perennial plants on a small hill, but ground cover phlox will definitely not take root in damp lowlands.
Planting a perennial plant is recommended in lighted areas.
It is advisable to prepare a planting pit for phlox in the fall. For this purpose, the selected area in the garden is dug up, the soil is fertilized with compost and humus, and then the holes are arranged about 30 cm deep. The distance between them should be about 50 cm.
Landing algorithm
In the spring, after thawing the soil for perennial phloxes, a nutritious soil is prepared, consisting of leafy earth, humus and sand. At the bottom of the prepared pits, drainage from crushed stone or expanded clay is equipped. Then the holes are half-filled with soil mixture, a little wood ash and complex mineral fertilizers are added and moistened.
Before planting, the soil for phlox is well watered
It is recommended to lower the ground cover phlox into the hole together with the existing earthen lump. It is not necessary to deeply deepen the seedling - its root system should be located close to the surface. The planted perennials are abundantly moisturized, and then mulch the ground around them with peat.
Care rules
Caring for ground cover perennial phlox is not particularly difficult:
- You need to water the culture often enough, once a week, but in small quantities so that moisture does not form. If the ground at the roots of phlox often dries up, this will not harm it, but in swampy soil it may die.
- Perennial phloxes are usually fed with complex mineral fertilizers in early spring. Since the culture is unpretentious, the spring application of minerals and periodic watering with the addition of wood ash will be quite enough.
- During the growing season, phloxes are recommended to be weeded from time to time. Weeds can significantly impair flowering, but it is worth noting that they rarely appear under dense groundcover.
A flowerbed with a creeping perennial should be weeded from time to time
With the onset of autumn, the faded shoots of perennial perennial phlox are recommended to be cut off. This will strengthen the culture's endurance to cold weather and will have a positive effect on the growth of young shoots in spring. It is not necessary to cover phlox for the winter, but you can mulch a flower bed or lawn with a dense layer of humus. Organic matter will insulate the roots in the ground and also nourish them with useful substances.
Diseases and pests
Ground cover phlox can suffer from fungal diseases and insects. Especially often he is amazed:
- powdery mildew - the fungus manifests itself as a white bloom on green leaves and leads to wilting;
White powdery mildew is easy to spot on the leaves.
- rust - when a fungus appears on the leaves, characteristic brown spots are very noticeable, which grow rather quickly;
Rust is a dangerous disease of ground cover crops
- ring spot - on small leaves of perennial phlox, the disease manifests itself as yellowish spots, if you look closely, you can see a pattern of circles and semicircles of a light shade.
The ring spot of a ground cover perennial is easy to recognize.
For the treatment of diseases, Bordeaux liquid, colloidal sulfur and Fundazol are used. It is better to spray perennial phlox as a preventive measure - in the spring before flowering and twice more after it.
Of the pests for ground cover phlox are dangerous:
- aphid - small green insects can eat leaves;
Aphids cause severe damage to a flower bed with creeping phlox
- nematodes - these worms can usually be seen by curling leaves and thickening of the stems;
When infected with nematodes, the plant most often dies
- slugs - small molluscs eat the leaves and do serious damage.
Slugs are very dangerous for ground cover perennials, they can completely destroy the plant
Nematodes can only be fought prophylactically, therefore, diseased perennial plants are destroyed. Spraying with insecticides and dusting with wood ash is good for other pests.
Conclusion
Perennial ground cover phlox can turn a garden plot into a solid flower garden at the beginning of summer. It is not difficult to take care of the crop, the perennial plant thrives on fertile and poor soils, in the sun and in light shade.
