Phlox Violet Pinwheels

Enjoy its vibrant purple to violet flowers in early spring when so few other plants are in bloom; yet its bloom season is so long it will still flower magnificently into mid- and late spring. You will also be rewarded by the occasional rebloom through the summer and fall. The slightly upturned, notched, brilliantly colored flowers truly are unique among all the spring-blooming moss phlox. Both full sun and a well-drained soil are recommended. Drought-tolerant once established. This selection will thrive on a high pH soil and should also be very tolerant of deicing salts. If properly sited it should spread over time, making a low-growing groundcover. Otherwise, maintenance is minimal, and no pruning is ever necessary. Foliage will be deciduous most winters but will renew itself each spring. Both full sun and a well-drained soil are recommended. Drought-tolerant once established. This selection will thrive on a high pH soil and should also be very tolerant of deicing salts. If properly sited it should spread over time, making a low-growing groundcover. Otherwise, maintenance is minimal, and no pruning is ever necessary. Foliage will be deciduous most winters but will renew itself each spring.

Derived from a cross between Phlox bifida and Phlox kelseyi ‘Lemhi Purple’, Phlox bifida is a midwestern species with lobed light blue or white flowers that grows on sandy soils or on lime- stone outcrops. Phlox kelseyi, with its violet to purple flowers, grows on highly alkaline and saline desert soils in Idaho and Montana. An intriguing marriage of east and west! Selected in 2010 from a cross made in 2008 at the Chicago Botanic Garden by Jim Ault, Ph.D.