What The Phlox?

Everyone wants a plant that blooms all summer and comes back every year. This is a tall order, and usually one has to choose between the two characteristics:

1. Blooms all summer - annual plants flower during the frost free period, but have to be planted every year.

-OR-

2. Comes back every year - perennial plants flower for a few weeks out of each year.

--Tall Phlox-- Blooms all summer AND comes back every year!

Phlox paniculata is not your average perennial plant. Hardy in zones 6-9, this plant returns every year and blooms for the entire summer, from mid June to late September. It has a stately presence in the garden, usually growing up to 4 feet tall and about 1 foot wide per plant. It grows in full sun to part shade, and is drought tolerant once established but thrives with regular water. Native to the United States, wild varieties will produce seeds and colonize an area which is great for pollinator, meadow, and cottage gardens. Hybrid varieties can be found in garden centers and are usually shorter and sterile (non-seed producing).

Pollinators such as swallowtail butterflies, sphinx moths, hummingbirds and a plethora of bees and wasps love tall phlox. 3 months of bloom mean 90 days continuous supply of precious nectar and pollen. Plant Phlox outside of a window for natural entertainment!