These bright and elegant representatives of the cyanotic family, in addition to amazing decorative characteristics, also have many other advantages. Phlox is unpretentious and able to grow in low light conditions and on a wide variety of soils. They stand in a bouquet for a very long time, and therefore are great for room decor.
The genus of this plant includes more than seventy species, of which nearly thirty are wild-growing, and the rest are cultivated. Only varieties and hybrids of this flower, there are up to four hundred. The vast majority of them are perennial crops. The most common in our country are phlox ground cover creeping. Their flowers bloom in mid-May. Among this species, the most common phlox is creeping awl-shaped. It got its name thanks to small oblong leaves that look like an awl.
Description
In height, an evergreen awl-shaped phlox creeping, covering the earth with a dense rug, reaches a maximum of twenty centimeters. The stems of this plant are densely covered with short, small, hard leaves. On each stalk there is one or two flowers with a diameter of two and a half centimeters. Color can be very different: pink, red, white, purple (Douglas phlox), lilac, etc. This crop blooms for the first time very plentifully in mid-May and until the end of June, the second time less generously - from August to September.
Phlox creeping is very winter-hardy. It is considered a real decoration of retaining walls and rocky gardens. The awl-shaped phlox creeping many gardeners love because of its ability to remain emerald green from spring to late autumn.
Although its flowers themselves are quite small, their inflorescences look so rich that they practically hide the leaves and stems. In Europe, the awl-shaped phlox creeping first appeared in England. He immediately became very popular. He began to grow even in English gardens in the estates of the nobility.
Varieties of creeping awl-shaped phlox
Snow-white, pink, dark red, lilac, purplish-blue - these flowers are incredibly beautiful in the garden. It is difficult to list all the shades that the phlox is subulate. Planting and caring for this flower is possible even for a beginner gardener. Phlox awl belongs to the groundcover. Almost all varieties of this plant are used to decorate rockeries. In our gardens, many types of phlox perennial creeping are common. They begin to bloom in late May and look great on a personal plot. Both the lovely phlox Douglas and the purplish blue Rugelli enjoy great love among domestic gardeners. The main characteristic, uniting all the creeping species of this flower, is a low stem and dense inflorescences.
Very interesting are varieties such as Candy Strips, giving white flowers with a pink stripe in the center, lilac Tellaria, which looks like an asterisk, Mayne, a rapidly growing Thumbelina.
Phlox awl: landing
The root system of this plant lies shallow. During the preparation of the soil before planting, you need to thoroughly clean the place from weeds. The fact is that they can grow through the turf and spoil the appearance of the flower garden. It is enough to place the planting material at a distance of twenty-five centimeters from each other, and in a year a continuous carpet will be formed. In order for the growth process to be accelerated, the phlox stems should be laid out in the right direction and fixed well.
Planting pits need to be dug at a depth of twenty to thirty centimeters, carefully fertilized with compost or humus mixed with ash and superphosphate fertilizers.
Soil requirements
All creeping phloxes feel great on loose, dry soils. This is surprising, but on fertile soils they form more green than inflorescences. The fact is that in the wild they always grow on "poor" land. In regions with acidic soil, phlox will have a shortage of macrocells, therefore, before planting, the soil must be liming. Most often, dolomite flour is used for this. Depending on the type of land, the amount of limestone can vary from 230 to 440 grams per square meter. On heavy soil, immediately before planting, it is imperative to add sand to the pits.
Phlox Care
It comes down to weeding, watering and three times feeding. With the right choice of landing site, suitable soil and proper care, the phlox creeping awl-shaped retains its beauty for about six years. And although this plant is frost-resistant, in the warm winter its leaves are ripened. As a result, phlox can lose its decorative effect, but with proper care it can recover. Humus added to the ground promotes the rapid growth of the plant and its abundant flowering. This plant is very fond of light and fertilizer. However, remember that you can not overfeed it. Otherwise, the power of phlox “will go into the leaves”, and it will have beautiful and powerful greens, but you can’t wait for the flowers. Watering should be rare and not very plentiful.
Phloxes who have reached the age of five must definitely be rejuvenated, as their stems begin to "become stiff" little by little, and the foliage to die. In addition, adult plants are more susceptible to various diseases, and the flowers on a shrub that has been growing for more than five years in one place are smaller, and the bush itself seems weakened. Culture often requires feeding with wood ash containing all the necessary trace elements with the exception of nitrogen.
Phlox creeping: reproduction
Most breeders believe that the fabulously beautiful bright low bushes of this plant are the most unpretentious and spectacular crops used to decorate gardens. The awl-shaped phlox propagates both vegetatively and by seeds. The easiest and most common way is to divide the bush. Transplantation is carried out in the spring. The distance between the bushes should be a maximum of thirty centimeters. If desired, at home, you can propagate the plant with stem cuttings, which are cut before the awakening of the buds. They are planted in the ground in early spring. The cuttings take root quite quickly, and already by the end full-fledged plants are obtained from them. Seed propagation is practiced very little.
Growing Features
In the northern regions, where plants need to be sheltered for the winter, it is better to use spruce spruce branches for phlox, which will not acidify the earth.
Dry leaves are not suitable for this. In the spring, in order to help the phlox to wake up faster, it can be poured with a humate solution. This speeds up both its growth and the development of the root system.
The best predecessors for awl-shaped phlox are calendula, lawn grass, tagetes and other crops, which also can not tolerate an excess of moisture. You can not plant this plant, for example, after wild strawberry. Like other evergreen crops, it is preferable to plant an awl-shaped phlox in places where there is a lot of snow in winter.
Pests
The awl-shaped phloxes most often suffer from powdery mildew and various caterpillars that quickly damage the stems of the plant. The defeat can be seen on the twisted brownish leaves. Such areas must be removed immediately.
Phlox is not recommended to be planted in such places for three years. This plant can also get sick from poor ventilation, as well as from a lack of fertilizer. Do not plant phlox very close to each other so as not to infect neighboring bushes.