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Phlox subulata

Creeping Phlox or Moss Phlox

(Polemoniaceae - Phlox Family)

Form

• miniature semi-evergreen perennial or short semi-evergreen groundcover (herbaceous when young, but semi-woody with age)
• maturing at about 6" tall by 2' wide
• prostrate mat growth habit
• slow growth rate

Culture

• full sun to partial shade
• 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
• propagation is by division of the clump, transplanting of rooted stems, or stem cuttings that are rooted in the Autumn, over wintered indoors, and planted in the Spring
• Phlox Family, with two major pest problems in Summer: spider mites (prevalent during heat and drought) and foliar nematodes (prevalent during periods when the foliage is constantly wet or under high humidity)
• abundantly available in containers
• shear the stems back one-third to halfway after flowering every year to promote lush new foliage, enhance vigor, reduce the amount of top growth as compared to the shallow root system, and reduce pest infestation
• although cold-hardy to zone 3, Creeping Phlox benefits from snow cover or evergreen boughs during the coldest periods of Winter to avoid winterburn, due to its combination of evergreen foliage and a shallow root system

Foliage

• evergreen to semi-evergreen needle-like foliage is either linear or awl-shaped (linear with a slightly swollen base), opposite to clustered on the stems, 0.5" to 1" long, and densely arranged, creating a prickly effect when handled
• the medium- to dark-green carpet of foliage may change to a bicolor of green-yellow or green-brown during the heat of Summer or cold of Winter as individual leaves die, but do not immediately abscise

Flowers

• flowers are five-petaled (with each petal notched at its apex), in vibrant shades of pink, red, lavender, blue-purple, or white
• clustered inflorescences occur at the termini of the very short flowering stems, covering the entire prostrate plant with a stunning, traffic-stopping carpet of small flowers in late April and early May

Fruits

• ornamentally inconspicuous

Twigs

• dense stems are composed of long trailing branches with very short floral stems, with the older growth becoming knotty, semi-woody, and devoid of most of its foliage with age
• stems often die out in patches with age, if they are never sheared back after bloom to reduce pest infestation

ID Summary

• prostrate perennial groundcover of trailing stems with needle-like, semi-evergreen foliage, bursting forth with a vibrant show of small flowers that cover the plant as a floral carpet in early- to mid-Spring, usually in colors of flourescent pink, faded blue-purple, or lavender, or less often red or white

Function

• Spring-flowering accent groundcover, commonly found in rock gardens, along paths, at foundations, and at the edge of beds or low walls (in these cases, it can achieve a prostrate mat, stone-rambling, edger, or short cascading effect)

Texture

• fine texture
• thick density

Assets

• awesome display of flowers in Spring creates a colorful carpeted effect for about two weeks
• flowering perennial groundcover that is excellent for sunny, dry, thin-soiled areas
• evergreen needle-like fine-textured foliage
• very cold-hardy

Liabilities

• spider mites and foliar nematodes can be severe pest problems that will shorten the life of the perennial, and cause large patches of foliage and stems to die-out
• plants lose vigor without annual shearing of the terminal stems after flowering
• Summer and Winter foliage often has dead yellowing or brown foliage interspersed with living green foliage

Habitat

• zones 3 to 9
• native to the Eastern United States

Variants

• with variants based almost exclusively upon floral color, many releases are simply given a color designation, rather than a cultivar name, although many cultivars exist
• the standard floral colors are pink, red, lavender, faded blue-purple, and white, but striped bicolored cultivars, as well as solid colors with a darker eye, are also available

Purpose

• Creeping Phlox is a perennial groundcover primarily grown for its early Spring accent flowering.

Summary

• Phlox subulata is known as an early Spring-flowering perennial that forms an evergreen, creeping, slow-growing, non-traditional groundcover, often used as an edging perennial, wall cascader, or rock garden rambler

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