Grow Garden Phlox for Jumbles of Fragrant Blooms
Updated: Feb. 08, 2024
The sweet-smelling blooms of garden phlox draw in bees, butterflies and birds. Here's how to care for this gorgeous, fragrant flowering plant.
All About Garden Phlox
If you’re searching for a fragrant flower that looks gorgeous while drawing multiple pollinators to your yard, look no further. The stunning pink (or white!) blooms of garden phlox add interest to your garden while boasting a sweet scent that’ll make you smile every time you walk past. Here’s all you need to know about adding this flower to your yard.
Garden Phlox Flower Care
Before you add this gorgeous flower to your garden, take a look at the information below.
Scientific name: Phlox paniculata
Growing zones: Zones 4 to 8
Light needs: Prefers full sun, but also grows in part shade.
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall, and spreads nearly as wide.
Grown for: Fragrant and showy white, pink or purple flowers.
Foliage: Long, pointed leaves.
Native to the rich thickets of the eastern states, garden phlox is equally at home in most of the U.S. It’s a great pick to add to the middle or the back of a garden border, and it adds color in summer and fall. It’s also an excellent choice for a cut flower garden.
Densely packed flowers pop up later in the growing season, usually around July, and keep blooming for about two months until early fall. Garden phlox is susceptible to powdery mildew, but look for cultivars that are slightly more resistant. Thin out half of the new stems in spring for better air circulation, which minimizes mildew risk.
Check out the top 10 flowering perennials that bloom all summer.
Benefits of Growing Garden Phlox
Regardless of the color of flowers that you plant, white or pink petals will draw in pollinators equally well. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies adore the fragrant blooms. It’s a perfect choice for a butterfly garden.
For more plants that bring in hummingbirds, check out our roundup of the top colorful hummingbird plants to grow.
Garden Phlox Cultivars To Try
There are plenty of types of this flower you can add to your garden. Candy Stripes boasts fun, contrasting stripes, and Mother of Pearl wows with overlapping blush pink blooms. Glowing white David is unique because it offers resistance to powdery mildew.
Originally Published: July 18, 2022
