When best to prune garden Phlox (P. paniculata)?
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
7 years ago
Our 'John Fanick' garden phlox set buds last year before I got around to giving it a trim, so I let it go and ended up resorting to plant props to keep it from flopping all over the place the rest of the season. I had been warned that it can get quite a bit taller than the 3 ft height listed on the tag and had cut it back prior years by 30-40% in early May. It's already approaching 3 ft thanks to this year's early start:
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roselee z8b S.W. Texas
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agobostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw thanked roselee z8b S.W. TexasRelated Discussions
Phlox paniculata with healthy foliage
Comments (15)Thanks, Ruth. It is; 'Fascination' already cut back. Am finding the few named Veronicastrum cultivars I have may not bloom as long as, or as late as, the species Veronicastrum (still in bloom). Our Echinops are very low maintenance perennials. It's 'Coral Flame'. The other one we have, planted at the same time, is somewhat taller than that one. Greenweed: Think garden phlox do require some maintenance for maximum attractiveness, but find balloon flowers higher maintenance, at least the way I perennial garden. They're certainly very hardy here, but the major problem (for me) is that the spent blooms (look like pods) really detract from the overall look of a blooming plant. I therefore dead-head the spent flowers. For me, the dwarf balloon plants look particularly unattractive, after the initial bloom, without deadheading. Thanks Terrene. Agree with everything you say in praise of 'Nora Leigh'. Thanks Prairiemoon. The daylily is 'Chicago Apache'. I got that no name red phlox from a customer's garden. It looks quite similar to 'Starfire'. Like your colour descriptions. I intend to use as many perennials in mixed perennial beds as possible and let the colours fall where they may. I do deliberately add certain colours, as being less common among perennials (e.g. blue and orange). I'd also say that particular perennials sort of colour coordinate themselves (e.g. the garden phlox, blue (more or less) through red, plus white, or the Helenium (just beginning to bloom) yellow, orange and red). To this end, I try to group different cultivars of the same perennial in a mixed bed....See MoreHelp! What P.Phlox could it be?!?
Comments (7)What does anyone think mine is then? Not that it matters a whole lot. The biggest bloom on the volunteer is 4-1/2 inches across. I do have a pure white David that is magnificent and noticed one tiny, light pink floret on one bloom. Wonder how that happened but plants will do that. I think it is unlikely that mine is a cross from David which is about 15' away in another garden spot, all in the front yard. And I'm not sure mine was seeded from the clump but I'll take a closer look at the foliage. Yes, the foliage looks the same, and the shocking pink is about the same color, but the darker pink eye is more pronounced in the volunteer, barely visible on the other one. Now this is odd. I read to pinch them back to get more blooms, so I've been dutifully doing that, the clump stays about the same size each year (not much sun). The other one since I didn't know what it was, I didn't pinch back, and the blooms are nicer, has four or five larger blooms on one stem. Hmmmmm. Either way, they are one of my few "stalky" plants that haven't toppled over from all the rain we've had. Neither has David. The other photo by the other poster is really nice, think it blends in better with other plants, looks naturalized and not all clumped together....See MorePhlox paniculata
Comments (83)Besides spring, Annette, I plant for summer and fall herbaceous perennials and usually avoid woody ones (e.g. shrubs). Some of what I plant doesn't like being disturbed, e.g. balloon flowers and peonies. Most of it, however, does much better if it's periodically reduced (and moved) and replanted with new organic soil. Consequently I feel free to plant closely. You could plant a perennial bed with the plants three foot away from each other and it would look great in three years time. Personally, I want the effect quickly, as most people do. With my close planting, it's necessary to avoid seeders and especially runners, which usually means avoiding the species (and paying more for well behaved cultivars). I reduce and move around plants probably a lot, as required with close spacing. With some perennials (e.g garden phlox), it doesn't seem to matter when they are divided as long as watering is covered. For instance, this year my one phlox 'Twister' seemed to be not getting enough sun by the time it started to flower, so I moved it to a better location (watched watering) and it's fine. Needless-to-say, (1) this works well for our growing conditions and (2) I'm basically retired and have a lot to time available for gardening. Re variegated perennials: I never liked variegated perennials either, but I'm now a convert. Many perennials only bloom for two or three weeks and so variegated ones really add some variation to a mixed perennial bed. The other thing that really appeals to me is the fact that variegated perennials may be less vigourous (= tamer) than the non-variegated forms ( e.g. with yellow loosestrife or obedient plant cultivars)....See Moretall garden phlox cuttings-when & how?
Comments (18)I loved all the suggestions. The upshot is that I waited until last week to get cuttings from a phlox that does not make seeds. I made a cutting chamber by inverting a clear plastic cake dome over a clear plastic cake dome turned upside down of the same size. I filled the bottom with soiless medium and perlite. The cuttings look very healthy so far; I cut off all the leaves except the top two or three, and there I cut most of them back. I was able to root hibiscus this winter using this method, but it was not but about 30% successful. I am hoping for better odds this time. I did use rooting hormone on them also....See More
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agobostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
7 years agoOK... shortened the ones on the right and thinned the ones on the left to see what happens. Wonder how long it will be before I have to explain myself? :-)
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoA bit surprised on the results so far of the late April phlox pruning. Blooms on the shortened stems are a week or two ahead of the ones that were left alone. Since I didn't remove any of the multiple leaders that started at/below the cuts, am expecting the pruned stems will have more numerous smaller flowers...... but who knows.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agobostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw thanked roselee z8b S.W. Texasbostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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