John
Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society’s
Wildflower Spot– July 2009
SUMMER PHLOX
Phlox paniculata
A very reliable
summer to fall garden plant, summer phlox grows 1-3 feet
tall in sun or shade, preferring moist, acid, rich soil
although limy soil is OK. The middle leaves are widest
near the center, with prominent side veins, broadly
lance-shaped. Flowers are grouped at the tips of erect
stems; magenta-pink in the wild, many cultivars are
available in shades from pink to deep purple.
No other plant
has such a long blooming season, from July through
October; summer phlox tolerates seasonal flooding, and
blooms vigorously during the hottest part of the
summer. If the faded flowers are removed, reblooming
will occur; the plant easily self-seeds when seeds are
developed. It can be scattered in a woodland garden
with only two to three hours of bright dappled sun and
can be grown under black walnut trees. Summer phlox
looks wonderful planted with spiderwort, beebalm,
blackeyed susan, wild ageratum, obedient plant, and
swamp sunflower. Butterflies and hummingbirds love to
sip nectar from flowers.
Summer phlox can
be seen in streambanks, roadsides, rich, open woods, and
thickets -- in Virginia, in coastal and northern
counties, and scattered in the mountainous regions.
Common in eastern and central U.S., the plant’s range is
from southern New York to northern Georgia and to
the Midwest.
The plant has been widely used
as a medicinal herb; the leaf extract is used as a
laxative and for treating boils.
By
Helen Hamilton, president of the John Clayton Chapter,
VNPS
Photo:
pink summer phlox (Phlox paniculata); taken by Jan
Newton
Photo:
white summer phlox (Phlox paniculata); taken by
Phillip Merritt
