How to grow subulate phlox without problems and hassle
The styloid phlox occupies the leading position in the list of popular garden crops. With its help, you can implement interesting solutions when creating a landscape design for the local area and enjoy the gorgeous flowering of a perennial twice a season. Before growing subulate phlox, carefully study its features, planting subtleties and care nuances.
Botanical description of the plant
The perennial is good because from early spring until frost its turf remains emerald green, even under the snow they retain their greenery. Lush flowering pleases 2 times per season (from late May to late June and from early August to mid-September). At the tops of the stems, star-shaped flowers of all kinds of shades of white, pink, blue, red or purple are revealed.
How to grow subulate phlox
When planting subulate phlox, it is worth considering several important points regarding the preparation and selection of a site, timing, and also study the planting algorithm.
Site selection and preparation
A perennial grows well in poor, dry soil. In this case, the acidity indicator should be neutral. On nutrient soils, the crop will increase its green mass to the detriment of flowering. Also, clay soil is not suitable for culture, and stagnant water provokes the appearance of rot, so the planting site should be open and illuminated by the sun.
When planting phlox, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the plants that previously occupied the chosen place. Good predecessors are calendula, lawn grass, perennials that cannot tolerate roundworms.
You can not plant phlox in the same area of strawberry growth, as there is a high risk of contamination of the soil with a nematode.
Before planting, prepare the soil by removing all weeds, especially dandelion roots, which, growing through the sod, worsen the decorative effect of the plantings. The soil can be enriched with rotted compost.
When growing a perennial, you need to know when to plant the styloid phlox. It is recommended to plan planting work in mid-April or early May, when the soil has already had time to warm up well and has not lost moisture. Such conditions promote rapid establishment, stimulate growth and have a positive effect on lush flowering.
Planting technology
Cultivation of subulate phlox provides for a competently carried out planting, which includes the following operations:
- Dig holes at intervals of 25 to 35 cm.
- Carefully spread the roots of the seedlings in the hole, sprinkle with nutritious soil and compact.
- Water and mulch.
Next year, the plant will cover the flowerbed with a luxurious flowering carpet.
To get a beautiful flower bed, plant the plants, directing the stems in the required direction, pinning and sprinkling with moist soil. Such shoots in the places of branching will actively take root and continue to take possession of the territory allocated for them.
Further care of the plant
The main criteria for breeding, on which the decorativeness of the plant, its abundant flowering depends, is properly carried out care, consisting of such standard agricultural techniques as watering, fertilizing, pruning, combating diseases and pests, preparing for winter.
Watering
One of the advantages of a perennial is drought resistance. Therefore, the plant should be watered regularly only during prolonged drought, using about 20 liters per 1 m2 of soil. It should be noted that the culture does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil. So that the water at the roots does not stagnate, it is necessary to water the plant in the morning. Protect leaves and flowers when watering from moisture in order to avoid rotting.
It is important to organize good aeration, while being careful not to damage the roots. Loosen the soil after each watering and rainfall.
Top dressing
To get beautiful awl-shaped phloxes with exuberant flowering, you need to provide the plant with sufficient nutrients. To do this, fertilize at the end of April before flowering, using fertilizers based on potassium and nitrogen. It is also recommended to feed the flower in July with minerals. A solution of ash will serve as fertilizer. It contains all the essential trace elements for the plant in the right amount. To make it, you need to pour 2 liters of water 350 g of ash and boil the resulting composition for 5-7 minutes. Cool the finished solution, filter, dilute with 10 liters of water and moisten the plantings.
Feeding phlox will help reduce the likelihood of developing and spreading fungal diseases.
Pruning
Pruning dry stems in early spring will rejuvenate the plant and allow it to form a compact shrub.
Many gardeners are interested in how to prune the styloid phlox after flowering. When the buds wilt, they must be torn off along with the damaged branches. In the first year of life, all faded shoots should be completely cut off. This will start the process of stimulating the kidneys.
It is not recommended to cut the bushes in the fall, they will not be able to please with flowering in the next season.
Diseases and pests
Phlox subulate, although it resists disease, but, like all crops, is not immune to powdery mildew in rainy or dry weather. In the fight against fungal infection, spraying the bushes with a solution of copper sulfate or fungicide effectively works.
The bushes of the culture were also chosen by harmful insects, including caterpillars, nematodes. To prevent the flower from becoming the center of the accumulation of pests, use insecticides.
The subulate phlox demonstrates winter hardiness and in the northern regions successfully tolerates cold under snow or spruce branches.
Foliage is not suitable as a covering material; under its dense layer, the plant can weed out.
Reproduction of perennial
The plant can be propagated vegetatively and by seeds:
- Cuttings. Cutting subulate phlox guarantees successful rooting of the plant. In the spring before budding or in the fall, as the plant fades, cut the shoots with 2-3 internodes. Remove the lower foliage to the first node. Put the cutting in a soil mixture containing sand, humus. Cover the container with shoots with a bag or jar, creating greenhouse conditions. In the process of rooting, the cuttings should be regularly ventilated and watered.
- By dividing the bush. A popular breeding method for phlox. The division should be carried out in the spring or autumn period after flowering. To do this, carefully dig out the bushes and divide them into parts with roots. Before planting on the site, shorten the shoots on the parcels, leaving the stems up to 10 cm in length. This will allow young seedlings not to waste energy on feeding excess green mass. After planting, keeping the distance between planting units 40-60 cm.
- Seeds. Growing subulate phlox from seeds is rarely used, since for many modern varieties they are complex hybrids. Flowers planted on a flower bed are pollinated and can multiply by self-seeding.In the fall, you can collect seed pods that have fallen off and put them in a container with a mixture of soil, humus and soil to a depth of 1.5 cm.In March, transfer the sprouted shoots for growing in a greenhouse, as soon as warm weather sets in, plant them in open ground.
Experienced growers are doubtful about the seed method, because it is difficult to achieve excellent results and get gorgeous flowers from seeds. Better to save time and buy seedlings.
Application in landscape design
Due to the variety of shades of flowers, the compactness of the bush and undemandingness, the subulate phlox is actively used in landscape design. This flower in the garden can be not only a background, but also an accent in the center of any flower bed.
The plant is suitable for creating low borders along paths in the garden.
Applied in rock gardens, rockeries and mixborders.
Culture is in perfect harmony with stones.
Phloxes look quite colorful next to carnations, periwinkles, stonecrops.
Knowing how to grow subulate phlox, you can get a beautiful plant that can decorate the garden area, forming a continuous carpet on the lawn. A bright and mesmerizing flower will evoke a lot of enthusiastic looks and pleasant compliments.