FLAME FLOWER

Family POLEMONIACEAE
Phlox species
Perennial/Annual

One of the most brilliantly coloured genera, native to North America, containing annual, herbaceous and alpine species.

Phlox paniculata (syn. Phlox decussata) has oblong, lance-shaped leaves and many flowers, from one to two inches across, borne in massive pyramidal panicles on stems up to four feet high.
The colour of the garden varieties varies from white to shades of pink, mauve, violet, purple, scarlet and crimson.
Phlox glaberrima suffruticosa is one to two feet tall, with smaller flowers.
Phlox maculata, two feet, has purple flowers; it is hybrid between Phlox paniculata and Phlox divaricata, the latter a dwarf alpine species: the height is one to two feet and the flowers are mostly of purple shades.

A deep, rich, gritty soil, well drained and sunny, is necessary for Phlox to grow really well, although partial shade is advantageous for those of orange tones that tend to burn in the sun.

There is also the lovely annual Phlox drummondii in a wide range of colour; most suitable for bedding between roses.

Propagate from root cuttings, top cuttings or seed.

The flowering season is from late June until September.

Phlox

The important family of the Phloxes must be discussed under three headings; the Perennial or Herbaceous, the Alpine or Creeping, and the Annual.

1. The herbaceous Phlox has a woody root-stock from which grow annually straight un-branched stems, from two to five feet high, bearing a broad pyramidal head or panicle of single flowers, whose colour ranges from white through lavender or mauve, violet, many shades of rose and crimson to salmon and tints approaching scarlet.
The plant is absolutely hardy; it requires a deep and nourishing root-run, as it is a hungry and thirsty subject, and quickly exhausts a poor or shallow soil.
For this reason the clumps ought to be lifted, divided, and replanted on fresh sights every three or four years.
There is no fixed rule as to this, and in good ground plants will sometimes stand seven or eight years, a certain falling-off in size of the blooms being compensated by the noble mass and abundance of the groups.
In preparing beds for Phloxes, dig right down to the subsoil, and work in plenty of half-rotten manure.
The autumn top-dressing must be liberal, and watering must be prompt and copious if the plant shows signs of flagging in hot weather.
Single clumps may be planted in borders, or beds and plots may be filled with plants put out about two feet apart.
The stock may be propagated by cuttings of the tops of shoots, about eight inches long, dibbled in sandy soil in July and shaded and kept moist; but the usual and by far the simplest way is root-division, any time between November and March.
In breaking up old roots, reject the hard woody stool in the centre of the plant, and choose pieces with plenty of fibrous roots, at the circumference.

The perennial Phloxes are classified as Phlox suffruticosa and Phlox decussata.
The former are between two and three feet high, and flower earlier than the other section.
They are not very numerous, and not as popular as Phlox decussata.
The latter are as a rule from four to five feet in height; but there is a comparatively new strain of dwarfs – about two feet – with very large flowers.
Phloxes are not superannuated by new kinds quite so rapidly as some other florists’ flowers, and the following list of names may be safely recommended to the beginner.

Acropole: violet, white centre.
Argon: flushed rose, or pinky flesh.
Coquelicot: reddish orange, purple centre, very vivid.
Éclaireur: rosy salmon.
Eugène Danzvilliers: rose and lilac, white eye.
Huxley: white with mauve border.
Iris: very large blue-violet, fine.
Molière: bright rose, dark centre.
Panthéon: rosy salmon.
Purity: fine white.
Lucie Baltet: shaded lilac, fine truss.
Coccinea: deep red.

The taller Phloxes must have a stout stake to each clump, and be effectually tied with tar-string. Large old clumps may need two or more stakes, or rain and wind when the flowers are out will work havoc with them.

2. The Creeping or Alpine Phloxes are mainly rockery plants, but some of them will grow freely in any tolerable soil, and may be used for edgings to beds or as patches of colour in borders.
Some stones sunk and half-bedded in the soil, and some old mortar, limestone chips or even broken brick mixed with it, will be to their taste.
They should be planted in February or early March; once established, they may continue for several years untouched; they spread fast, and soon invade their neighbours if sufficient space is not allowed them at first.
They are propagated by careful pulling out small pieces of the plant with root-fibres attached. Some varieties root freely at some distance from the original stem; others are less prolific.
The following are all desirable; they cover the ground with a dense mat of fine-leaved growth which in spring is almost covered with single flowers the size of a sixpence.
For affording sheets of pure colour, in conjunction with such things as Arabis, Aubrietia, Alyssum, etc., they are invaluable.

Phlox divaricata (or Canadensis): pale blue.
Phlox subulata: bright rose, strong grower.
Phlox subulata: G. F. Wilson, mauve.
Phlox subulata: Nelsoni, white fine foliage, not very strong grower.
Phlox subulata: The Bride, white, pink eye.
(other Subulata varieties worth growing are Brightness, Nivalis, Seraph, Vivid, Model).
Phlox verna: deep rose.
Phlox Carolina: pink

3. The Annual Phlox – Phlox Drummondii – is an indispensable bedding and border plant for any one who can command a hot-bed or frame.
The plants grow from a foot to eighteen inches high; there is a race of dwarf or compact growers which does not exceed six inches.
The habit is somewhat trailing; if planted together in beds, the shoots may be pegged down in the manner of Verbenas, and will soon cover the ground.
The flowers, which are borne in profusion from July to the frosts, are white, clear or with coloured eye or margin, crimson, rose, buff, salmon, scarlet, dark blood red, pink, violet, purple blue.
The seed should be sown on moderate heat - 50° to 70° - early in March; the seedlings pricked off as soon as possible, grown on near the glass, hardened and planted out in rich soil, a foot apart, after the middle of May.
For large beds the taller or rambling sorts may be used; for mixed borders and edgings the compact.
A packet of mixed seed from a good house will afford every variety.
If a large number of plants are required.
A packet of imported German seed should be obtained, containing a dozen or more separate sorts, as a rule of excellent quality.