NOTEWORTHY PERENNIALS 139 



The Dwarf Phlox plants should be set about 10 inches or 12 inches 

 apart and the taller Hardy Phloxes about 18 inches apart. Young 

 plants can be set out any time in the Spring. If the shoots are pinched 

 back in June or July the plants wiU become branched and bushy, and 

 will go on blooming until late Autumn. It takes from two to three 

 years to obtain good-sized and well formed plants. They should be 

 divided and transplanted every three or four years or the blooms will 

 begin to deteriorate and the soil will become exhausted. If the first 

 display of flowers is cut back as soon as the blooms are faded, a second 

 crop of bloom will come on before Fall. Phloxes will grow either in 

 full sun or in partial shade. 



During damp seasons the plants are sometimes attacked with 

 mildew. As soon as the first signs of this appear, the plants can be 

 sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture or if powdered sulphur is dusted on 

 the leaves in the morning when the dew is on them, it will soon check 

 the mildew. The latter is sometimes caused by having the plants too 

 close together so that good air circulation around the lower stems is 

 prevented. Red spiders also attack Phlox. This can best be deter- 

 mined when it is noticed that the lower leaves turn a rusty brown. 

 A forceful sprinkhng with a hose on the under side of the leaves should 

 be apphed. If, however, the attack is very severe, it is best to cut the 

 stalks back near the ground and let new growth start. 



The plants should be mulched every Winter with well decayed 

 manure. 



Propagation. Phloxes are propagated by division of the clumps, 

 which should be done every three years, for they tend to weaken in 

 the center; by seeds, which may give many new and interesting colors 

 and types, but usually resulting in magentas and muddy colors; by 

 cuttings made from the stems. Dividing of the clumps should be 

 done in the Fall or in earhest Spring before much growth has been 

 made. Commercial nurseries propagate by root cuttings. The roots 

 are cut into 2 inch pieces early in Spring or Fall and sown in flats, 

 much as seeds are treated. 



Physostegia — False Dragon Head, American 



Heather, Obedient Plant, Mexican Heath, 



Accommodation Flower 



The False Dragon Head {Physostegia virginiana) is another one of 

 the few August blooming plants. It is extremely beautiful, with spikes 

 of rosy pink, lilac or white flowers which are tube-shaped and similar 



