Phlox

This is, perhaps, the most remarkable plant of the family Binyukhov! According to the variety, variety of color, aroma, duration of flowering, there are few rivals. Not without reason, the flox enjoys constant love and popularity among gardeners. In August, it simply has nothing to replace.

This genus contains about 60 species, and only one floks of Drummond is annual, and all the rest are perennials. Almost all species grow in North America. She is their homeland. In our country only one species is known - mountain( creeping Siberian).

According to the habitus phloxes can be conditionally divided into two types: creeping( 5-20 cm) and shrub( 30-180 cm).Sweaters, usually creeping, form dense pillows or carpets. The bush grow naturally with a bush that forms several upright leafy stalks. The flowers are not too diverse, funnel-shaped, but they are of various colors( except yellow), collected in dense paniculate inflorescences. But the shape of the inflorescence is quite diverse: cones, spheres, hemispheres, pyramids, umbrellas. The flowering period is widely spread, which allows one to admire their luxurious flowering practically all summer. Early varieties of phlox are blooming at the end of May and June and bloom until mid-July. Phloxes of the average flowering period, bloom from late July to mid-August, and late ones only begin to bloom from mid-late August and bloom until mid-late September and even October. The timing and duration of flowering depends on the weather. In dry and hot weather, flowering starts 10 days earlier, and goes shorter. With a cool and fairly humid weather, the bloom lasts a week and lasts longer than usual. To prolong the flowering of phlox, it is necessary to water them constantly in the heat. The term of flowering of any color is extended by such a simple measure as the timely cleaning of fading flowers. In phlox they can simply be shaken off the inflorescence. This, by the way, will allow the inflorescences to keep a neat appearance.

All phloxes do not tolerate acidic soils, and therefore they need to be fed with fertilizers that do not acidify the soil. It is required to constantly monitor the fact that the land does not become acidified, for this it is possible to scatter ash( half a glass around each plant) on a damp earth. And it is enough to do this simple operation in spring and late summer.

Phloxes take out a large amount of mineral elements from the soil every season, so they need fertilizing, and not one. They do not like droughts, but they do not tolerate excessive waterlogging, so you should water regularly and provide good drainage in case of prolonged rains and spring floods. In order not to engage in drainage works, it is easier to plant phloxes on a small elevation( 25 cm).Phloxes are sun-loving, but a slight shading at noon will do them good - they will not burn out so quickly and will bloom. In the penumbra, under the crowns of fruit trees from the southeast or south-west sides, they bloom continuously and magnificently.

In general, phloxes hibernate without shelter, but in severe snowless winters or during frosts after a thaw they may die. Therefore, just in case, they are better in autumn, after cutting off the faded plants( 5 cm from the ground level), slightly peat with peat, which is recommended to add ash( a half-liter can to a bucket with a capacity of 10 liters).Or just do not cut plants in the fall. The first frost will "break" the stems, and they will cover the rhizome. If you are so afraid of pathogens, then pour phloxes in early autumn "Phytosporin" "right on the head", and at the same time, and the soil around them. This simple and very effective measure will imbue the soil with humus and at the same time destroy the causative agents of fungal and bacterial diseases.

On rich humus soil, in the midday shade, with sufficient and regular watering, the phloxes retain the excellent, green foliage throughout the stalk during the whole period of growth and flowering. But if at least one of these conditions is violated, the lower part of the stem acquires a very unattractive appearance due to prematurely drying leaves. Usually this is due to a lack of potassium, or calcium, or water. This is common if phloxes are illuminated by a hot midday sun, or generally grow in the open sun. Of course, they must be supplemented with potassium and calcium( 1 tablespoon of calcium nitrate plus 1 tbsp. Of potassium sulfate per 10 l of water) - 0.5 liters of solution under the bush. But usually the lower, drying up, leaves can not be saved. If the drying of the lower leaves is a constant phenomenon, then you have to cover the unsightly part with other plantings. The most suitable for this is the autumn purifier, which will blossom when the phloxes completely blossom, and the thick green foliage of the cleanses securely covers the lower part of the phlox from the height of summer. Or, as already mentioned, after the frosts in the beginning of summer, you can plant marigold seedlings before phloxes, but this will have to be done annually.

Plant phlox in August, usually right at the time of flowering, as they easily tolerate the transplant at any time, but in August you see what you are buying, in addition, during the autumn planting, the phloxes are less dependent on the vagaries of the weather next spring, develop better and more abundantlyblossom. If the planting is too late( in September), there is a danger of drawing them into the soil so that the kidneys can suffocate. Autumn planting is better, just in case, to wrap up the peat, and in the spring to unburden. In a reliable nursery, you can buy planting material in the spring, drop it off immediately, cover the landing with lutrasil, or hold it in the refrigerator until the end of frosts and then plant. In the spring planting, flowering is delayed for 10-15 days, depending on the weather.

For planting, any garden soil with a layer of 25-30 cm, with a neutral( in the worst case, weakly acidic) reaction will work. In the ground, dig a hole to allow the roots to fit freely into it, which must be cut off, leaving about 15 cm for each. Half a tablespoon of AVA granular fertilizer can be added to the well once every three years. Or you can make half a glass of ash and a tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium( preferably containing no chlorine).The well is filled with water a couple of times. Make a mound of ground in the middle, spread out the roots on it and cover the seedling with soil so that the stems are buried in the soil for 2-3 cm. The plantings are watered once more. If you plant a phlox( or any other plant) in the heat, then put in the hole before planting the hydrogel, which will retain moisture in the soil and will evenly supply the plant with it. Since phloxes need additional fertilizer every year, then after 0.5 years, 0.5 st.spoons of AVA granular fertilizer, which the plant will last for 3 more years. Fertilizer loosens in the soil around the rhizome. And in 5-6 years the time of transplantation will just come.

If this fertilizer is not available for you, then use a buoy flower fertilizer, but it should be applied annually in spring, when young shoots grow, in summer, during budding, and in autumn, after flowering( 1 tablespoon enough for planting).

If at all there are no fertilizers, then you can proceed as follows. In the spring, as soon as the soil recoils, scatter a glass of ash around each plant on a damp surface. When the sprouts appear, water them with any preparation containing copper( 0.5% solution - 1 teaspoon without top to 1 liter of water).After the end of frosts, feed the infusion of weeds or a solution of bird droppings, diluting it with water 1: 20. You can use any other droppings in the ratio 1: 10( rabbit, goat, mullein and even feces from the toilet).Immediately, the ground should be covered with peat or sand. During budding, pour a solution of the copper-containing preparation( 1 hour, a spoon without top to 0.5 liters of water).

Do not forget that phloxes are hygrophilous plants, they need regular watering in dry and hot weather.

Renal buds have been planted since the fall at the very base of last year's shoots. From them there is also a growth of new roots, therefore the rhizome gradually emerges from the soil. Because of this, the phlegm panicle needs a good, fertile soil in the fall. The most intensive growth of the underground and aboveground parts of the phlox occurs in May.

The division of bushes must be done every 4 to 6 years to avoid degeneration. The fact is that the central part of the bush becomes obsolete and turns into rubbish, so when you separate the familiar piece of rhizome from the edge of the bush, you give them the best part, and leave a rotten center for yourself, which quickly degenerates. Therefore, never separate the peripheral part of the bush. It is necessary to divide the bush correctly, only then it will lead to its rejuvenation. The bush is digged from all sides, pulled out of the ground, driven into the center of the peg and gently pushed the earth's clod. After that, it easily falls into separate parts. Truncated remains of the central part should be cut out, leaving only young, peripheral. Now you can share with friends and neighbors, and also sell, exchange phloxes for another variety. By the way, this is the fastest and easiest way to reproduce them. You can do this in the spring, at the end of May, but in the Northwest it's better in late August or early September. By the way, if your acquaintances or neighbors have a frowned bush, ask them to rejuvenate it, at the same time allocate themselves to themselves. In spring, each baby must have at least 3 renal buds.

In spring, almost every broken off part of the aboveground part or rhizomes, planted in the ground, takes root, which does not happen during the autumn planting. In autumn, you can plant a delicacy with only 2 kidneys.

In addition to dividing the bush, phloxes can be propagated by cuttings. In the same summer, rooted cuttings bloom. This is the most profitable and fast enough way to reproduce phloxes. Cuttings can be cut by stems with a leaf. On the cuttings in the first half of summer take the green parts of the stems. The lignified parts of the stem are not suitable for propagation. So if you are late, then you will have to use

only upper, still green parts. A green cut can all be used for cuttings, and from each stem they can be cut as much as the stem of the leaves. Hold the day in a solution of "Kornevin" or in a solution of honey( 1 teaspoon per 1 glass) and insert into clean sand, which is poured a layer of 2 - 3 cm onto the fertile layer of the earth, then cover with jars. The carving is done in the shade. Cuttings are sprayed 2-3 times daily from a manual sprayer and watered. Soil can not be waterlogged - it can cause rot of the lower part of the cuttings! Rooting takes about 3 weeks. As soon as new leaves grow, the cans can be removed.

If you bought and planted a rooted shank, which is usually just one stem, then my advice to you: the next year in spring all the shoots that appeared should be pinched, then a large bush is quickly formed. By the way, if you have a phlox that gives few shoots, then 2-3 stems in the center of the bush stimulate the appearance of 2 stems instead of each of them. Do pinches should be when young shoots grow to a height of 20 cm. The bush will bloom about 2 weeks later, but it will bloom very abundantly and continuously.

Phloxes reproduce and seeds, and blossom only after 2 years. Seeds are harvested in October and immediately sown in a schoolchild. At seed reproduction, plants, as a rule, do not inherit the parent variety. In the offspring, splitting occurs. But you can get plants with unusual flower colors. Experts call this "stupid selection."But for amateur gardeners, this is a fascinating process: in just two years, by their own efforts, get some unknown phlox.

The following grades have proved themselves well.

Varieties of early flowering period( from the end of June to the middle of July):

Scarlet flower - with carmine-pink globular inflorescences, height 65 cm;

Deputy - with dense spherical inflorescences of carmine color with purple specks, height 45 cm;

Mighty - with a loose hemispherical inflorescence of a pale purple rose tone, height 90 cm;

Muscovite - with a dense round-oblong inflorescence densely lavender with purple eyes in flowers, 60 cm high;

Mountains - flowers salmon-pink, collected in a loose pyramidal inflorescence, height 65 cm;

Faerspiegel - flaming red flowers with a carmine eye, collected in a pyramidal inflorescence, height 80 cm;

White pyramid, height 55 cm

Sorts of average flowering period( end of July-beginning of August):

Aurora - coral-pink flowers with a bright, white eye, collected in a pyramidal inflorescence, height 80 cm;

Africa - bright purple pyramidal inflorescence, plant height 80 cm;

Vidar - a round inflorescence of purple flowers with a white center, at the end of flowering they become lilac, height 60 cm;

New - lilac-blue oval inflorescence, height 55 cm;

Panama - white pyramidal inflorescence, height 70 cm;

Ruddy( Nikolay Vigorov) - large white flowers with a bright crimson center, gathered in a magnificent conical inflorescence, height 70 cm, very popular and elegant variety;

Violet - inflorescence dense, pyramidal, bright-violet, height 100 cm;

Maria Fedorovna - bright crimson, loose, hemispherical inflorescence, height 120 cm

Late grades( from early August and later to mid September and later):

Shostakovich Symphony - large, dense, spherical inflorescence of violet large flowers with brightan asterisk in the center, a height of 90 cm;

Amaranthree - purple-lilac, broad-conical, loose inflorescence, nu-honeycomb 100 cm;

Spring - dense pyramidal inflorescence of red-pink flowers, height 50 cm;

Viking - thick pink, dense, oval inflorescence, height 60 cm;

Wintermergen is a bluish-white, dense, plane-pyramidal inflorescence, a height of 60 cm;

Kirmeslender - a pyramidal inflorescence of white flowers with a large red eye, height 120 cm

Of modern varieties of interest are:

Anchor dzhus - large( diameter 4 cm), velvety, dark purple flowers collected in a dense round-conical inflorescence, height100 cm;

Blumun - large dark-purple with blue-tinged flowers collected in a loose oval inflorescence, height 70 cm, differs from long-lasting flowering from the end of June to frost;

Blue delight - large bluish-violet flowers collected in a loose pyramidal inflorescence, height 90 cm;

Pink carpet - round pink inflorescence, height 50 cm;

Katyusha - dense, conical, light crimson inflorescence, height 90 cm;

Pink lilac - an original sort, similar to lilac, forms a large conical inflorescence of very small( 0.8 cm) pink flowers of a star-shaped form;

Sanray is a round-conical inflorescence of coral-pink large flowers, height 90 cm;

The blue sea is a dense globular inflorescence of violet with a blue tinge of flowers bluish towards evening, height 70 cm.

There are practically no wreckers in phlox, but there is not a visible bastard, a nematode. The bushes inhabited by it do not develop, so the stems considerably lag behind in growth, after all, the plant stops blooming. How to fight? The predatory relative "Nemabakt" displaces its herbivorous sisters from the occupied territory, use it. In addition, many flower growers have noticed that marigolds( tagetes) too will push the nematode from the site. Therefore, plant marigolds around the phlox. By the way, they perfectly zadekoriruyut ugly lower part of these plants. After the onset of frosts, do not remove marigolds, even if they winter. Remove them in the spring, cutting only the above-ground part.

Diseases of the most common powdery mildew, which is usually strongly manifested in wet, and even more cold, weather, which in the Northwest from mid-August is not uncommon. The simplest measure is preventive spraying with "Zircon" or "Epinom-exstra" at the time of plant budding. You can also use "Novosil"( or "Silk"). A perfect result gives a systematic( once in 3 weeks) spraying( or simple watering) of plants with "Healthy Garden", especially in combination with "Ekoberyn."

Rust appears occasionally. Against this, too, these drugs are effective. Both diseases of fungal origin, and therefore, if there are no such funds, you can use "blue spraying"( Bordeaux liquid).In order not to burn the leaves, first try the prepared solution on the bottom of one plant and only the next day sprinkle the rest if there were no burns on the experimental one. If burns were, then add water to the prepared solution still( a quarter of the prepared solution).

You can use colloidal sulfur as soon as you notice the first signs of illness. In the gauze pouch, pour the powder of colloidal sulfur and in a sunny, dry morning, thoroughly pollinate the phlox stems.

Sometimes there is a dangerous infection of phloxes with an incurable viral disease. Such plants lag behind in growth, on the top of the stems the leaves become narrow, literally threadlike, the remaining leaves wrinkle, and the flowers become green. The plant is subject to immediate destruction, until the insects have transferred the virus to the remaining plants. The bush should be excavated and burned. It is believed that for 3-4 years at this place it is impossible to plant phlox and other plants from the Binyukh family. With their systematic use( weekly) of the drug "Extrasol" create real wonders with flowers: they become brighter, larger, bloom longer, are not prone to disease, the intensity of the smell increases dramatically. Plants are easily restored after a drought or freezing.

Phloxes can be planted in a row in the mixborder. It is necessary not only to pick them up in color, but also in terms of height and flowering time. They look great in single landings scattered all over the site. Perfectly combined with other plants in mixed flower beds.