PHLOX 



PHLOX OBDEB 



PHLOX 659 



'being opposite, or alternate at the top. 

 Flowers usually showy, sometimes soli- 

 tary at the ends of the branches among 

 the leaves, sessile or stalked, sometimes 

 in cymes, arranged in terminal, corymbose 

 or clustered panicles. Calyx tubular bell- 

 shaped, 5-ribbed, more or less deeply 

 5-lobed. Corolla red, violet, or white, 

 salver-shaped, with a slender tube 

 narrowed at the mouth; lobes 5, equal, 

 -obovate, rounded or obcordate, twisted 

 in bud. Stamens 5. Ovary oblong or 

 •ovoid. Capsule ovoid, 3-valved. Cells 

 1-seeded. 



With the exception of the beautiful 

 •annual P. Dnrnimondi, all the Phloxes 

 are perennials. Only a few of the natural 

 species are grown in gardens, most of the 

 kinds met with being hybrid forms of two 

 or three species. Of late years these have 

 become immensely popular with all lovers 

 of outdoor gardening, owing to their great 

 hardiness, the size, beauty, freedom and 

 great variation in colour of their flowers, 

 and the ease with which they may be 

 successfully grown and multiplied. They 

 are excellent plants for the border, or in 

 -groups by themselves, and from June 

 -almost until the end of September con- 

 -tinue to produce masses of bloom which 

 are very valuable in a cut state for 

 decorative purposes. 



Culture cmd Propagation. — Perennial ' 

 Phloxes flourish in any fairly good garden 

 soil, especially if enriched by the addition 

 •of manure. In the spring after the 

 plants have begun to grow, a good mulch- 

 ing of weR-rotted manure or the remains 

 •of spent mushroom beds wiU be of great 

 value and induce vigorous growth and 

 freedom of flowering. During hot dry 

 summers the soil should receive copious 

 waterings, as the leaves and flowers of 

 the Phlox readily droop in the absence of 

 moisture from the roots. If possible they 

 should be planted in an aspect facing 

 west or south-west or even north-west, 

 rather than due south, as the full glare of 

 the sun, even when the soil is moist, 

 causes too much evaporation from the 

 flowers, and if they can receive a little 

 «hade during the hottest part of the day 

 they retain their freshness of colour and 

 form much longer. As in the case of the 

 Pyrethrum (see p. 535), if the first spikes 

 of bloom are cut away as soon as over, 

 and the plants given a good soaking of 

 water, a fresh set of shoots will develop 

 and produce another crop of flowers in 



autumn, and these are very often superioi- 

 to the first. 



Phloxes are usually increased by 

 dividing the ' stools ' in spring just as 

 growth begins ; by cuttings of the roots 

 and shoots, and by seeds. If the plants 

 are carelessly or clumsily divided, a good 

 deal of injury is done to the young shoots 

 and roots, and the divided portions take 

 a rather long time to recover and establish 

 themselves properly. Consequently they 

 produce only poor or medium-size trusses 

 of bloom. The more carefully the stools 

 are divided with a sharp strong knife 

 (instead of chopping up with a spade) the 

 more likely are good results to be obtained 

 diiring the season. 



Phloxes are easily increased by cut- 

 tings, especially if it is not advisable to 

 disturb the stools. When the shoots have 

 grown about 2 in. high in spring they 

 may be severed with a sharp knife just 

 below a joint, and inserted in fine sandy 

 soil in a cold frame, where they will root 

 freely. Or each cutting may be put in 

 similar soil in a small pot and plunged in 

 bottom heat in a greenhouse or hotbed 

 to get roots to form more quickly. It is 

 scarcely a wise practice, however, to break 

 down the hardiness of a perfectly hardy 

 plant by making its tissues tender under 

 artificial heat. It was this practice that 

 chiefly led to the destruction of Holly- 

 hock by the fungus referred to at p. 273, 

 and where cuttings root freely in cold 

 frames there is no need to place them in 

 heat. When well rooted the plants may 

 be placed by themselves in a partially 

 shaded or not too sunny part of the 

 border about the end of May, when they 

 will grow weU and probably flower pro- 

 fusely the first year. Instead of planting 

 out they may be grown on in pots for the 

 first season and used for the decoration 

 of the greenhouse or conservatory. 



Root cuttings are not often employed, 

 but when used the oldest and healthiest 

 roots may be cut into pieces about i in. 

 long, and placed lengthways on the soil 

 and slightly covered with soil as if they 

 were seeds. They will ' break ' or sprout 

 more quickly if placed in gentle heat. 

 The leaves with a, piece of the stem 

 attached are also said to root, but so 

 slowly that it is only waste of time 

 raising Phloxes in this way. 



In warm seasons Phloxes seed fairly 

 freely. When ripe the seed may be 

 gathered and placed to dry thoroughly on 



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