Phlox Subulata - ‘Candy Stripes’
Height: 2-6”
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade, Blooms Best in Full Sun
Soil: Well Drained, Can Tolerate Droughty Soil.
Hardiness: Zone 4
Bloom Time: April, May
Uses: Rock Garden, Hanging Basket, Raised Beds
Phlox subulata is a spring-flowering accent groundcover, at home in rock gardens, along paths,
at foundations, and at the edge of beds or low walls. It can form a prostrate mat, or a short
cascading effect. The flowers last about two weeks and come in vibrant shades of pink, red,
lavender, blue-purple, or white. After flowering is finished in May, a light shearing will help get
rid of any browning and encourage new growth. They may even have a second bloom in the fall.
The fibrous root system can be used for erosion control on slopes, but this plant is not too aggressive to live easily
with larger plants, and it permits spring bulbs such as Daffodils and Tulips to rise up through its low foliage. It is
easily edged and as it spreads on top of the soil it creates a beauitful matt of spring colour.
Thin needle like leaves make this plant rather drought tolerant, it cannot stand too much damp or wet. Phlox prefers
moist, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline pH soils in full sun, but is adaptable to thin soils, dry soils, sandy to
gritty soils, and soils of acidic pH.
The main disease problem of this species in hot and humid places is powdery mildew, which is more often
noticed in early spring and during the summer. One solution to this problem is to cut back the stems to initiate
new growth.
Phlox translates from the Greek as "a flame". Subulata translates as "awl-shaped", referring to the needle-like
leaves that swell slightly at their base, like the awl foliage of some Junipers.
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"There amid the tinted bowers, |
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