Phlox drummondii is an annual ornamental flowering plant with a long flowering period and a variety of species and varieties. The homeland of these beautiful flowers is America. With this vibrant annual and a professional florist's approach, your backyard flower beds will remain blooming and colorful from early spring to late fall. Landscape designers have long considered phlox to be a spectacular, colorful and festive flower and are happy to use it for landscaping alleys and parks in recreation areas and for decorating city streets.
Distinctive features of a flowering plant are bright umbrella inflorescences of many flowers of various colors and shades with a diameter of about 3 cm.This lush, low (about 35 cm) bush in the form of a ball is very much appreciated for its unusual and original shape, as well as for its wonderful and unique aroma.
Planting Drummond phloxes in open ground
With proper planting of Drummond phloxes, creating favorable growing conditions and appropriate care, phloxes will show all their beauty and splendor and will delight for many months in a row.
A place
The Drummond phlox growing area should be in an open area, without shading. The plant is very fond of sunlight and warmth. The close arrangement of tall shrubs and trees is undesirable. The soil should be light and fertile, as the flowers are very demanding on its structure. Sandy and heavy loamy soils can be improved with humus, peat soil or humus.
Planting seeds
A favorable time for sowing seed is the first week of May. Seeds are spread in prepared, abundantly watered grooves with a depth of 1.5-2 cm (2-3 seeds together). If necessary, if all 3 seeds sprout, only strong seedlings can be left, and the rest can be removed or transplanted. The distance between the plantings is at least 15 cm. Immediately after sowing, it is recommended to use a flower bed cover (for example, lutrasil). It can be removed only after the massive appearance of seedlings, which will sprout in about 10-15 days.
Seedling care
As soon as all the seeds germinate, it is necessary to carry out the first loosening of the soil and remove all weak and poorly developed plants.
The first fertilizing with nitrogen content is applied immediately after germination, and the second after about 10 days. It is very important to provide flowering crops with nutritious mineral supplements during the period of flower bud formation. With sufficient and timely application of complex fertilizers, plants that have grown from seeds will bloom in early June.
Autumn planting of seeds
Experienced growers recommend sowing Drummond phlox seeds in late autumn or even early winter. This planting material is highly frost-resistant and therefore strong cold and severe frosts will not harm them. Sowing of seeds is carried out after a massive leaf fall in November.
In warm southern climates, these flowering crops can be sown during the last week of December.For planting, you will need one bucket of garden soil, which is harvested in advance, even before the snow falls. The surface of the earth, together with the snow cover, must first be carefully tamped, and then spread out 2-3 seeds at intervals of 20 cm and sprinkle with a small layer of harvested garden soil. This layer will preserve the seedlings in the winter, and in the spring the seeds will sprout as soon as the sun warms up well. The sprouts will start to appear in the first days of April.
Growing seedlings of phlox Drummond
With the seedling method of growing Drummond phlox, flowering begins much earlier, around the beginning of May. Seeds are recommended to be sown in the first week of March. Planting boxes are filled with soil, seeds are laid out and sprinkled with garden soil (layer thickness is about 1 cm). For fast germination it is necessary to use a film cover. It will create greenhouse conditions, and seedlings will appear in 5-7 days. The mini-greenhouse needs to be ventilated once a day.
After the mass appearance of seedlings, the planting boxes are transferred to a bright room and regular daily watering is carried out using a fine spray.
After the formation of 2-3 full-fledged leaves on young plants, a dive is carried out into individual pots. After about 10-15 days, you need to make the first fertilizing with nitrogen content.
Watering Drummond phloxes is moderate, but regular. An excess of irrigation water will bring negative consequences in the form of black leg or root rot. Flowers should be watered only after the surface layer of the soil has dried by 5-10 mm.
For the formation of bushiness and splendor (in the future), it is necessary to pinch, starting from the age of one month. At this time, the plant should already have at least six formed leaves.
Hardening of seedlings and accustoming them to the open air begins after the fifteenth of April. Flower containers with plants are taken out daily to the balcony, veranda or garden area.
A favorable time for planting annual seedlings in flower beds and flower beds is the beginning of May. Flower buds should already appear on young bushes.
A very important component of care is the timely removal of dried and wilted inflorescences on flowering bushes, as well as damaged stems.
Continuous flowering of Drummond phlox from spring to autumn can only be if all the rules of care are followed.
To obtain seed for the next season, after flowering, the plants are pulled out together with the root and laid out to dry in a warm room for about 20-25 days. After that, dry inflorescences are ground, the seeds are collected and stored in paper bags until sowing.
Popular varieties of Drummond phlox
The numerous varieties of Drummond phlox differ in color and in the shape of the petals. On flower beds and flower beds, you can see shades of white, blue, purple, pink, red and lilac tones. The most popular are:
- "Drummonda" is the most popular frost-resistant variety with large raspberry flowers, which is used to decorate borders, alpine hills and flower beds.
- "Chanel" and "Strawberry with cream" are terry varieties, in which flowers are presented in the form of multi-colored lush buds.
- "Grandiflora" is a cold-resistant variety with large, beautiful flowers (about 4 cm in diameter).
- "Milky Way" and "Star Lace" - flowers in the form of small bright stars are the main difference between this variety.
- "Buton" - undersized growth, reaching a height of 15-20 cm. The inflorescences consist of two-colored flowers.
