126 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



April, 1919 



the late-flowering Summer Phlox. In the follow- 

 ing notes on varieties, colors are described ac- 

 cording to Ridgway's "Color Standards and Color 

 Nomenclature," and immediately following, in 

 parentheses, the colors are given in popular 

 terms. The following list includes some of the 

 best forms observed in a large collection. 



The typical Phlox subulata, the Moss Pink of 

 our grandmothers' gardens, is frequently found 

 growing wild in certain Eastern States. It is not 

 so attractive in color as are some of the varieties 

 which have been obtained from it. The variety 

 rosea is a form of much better color, light mallow 

 purple (light purplish rose) with a very small 

 "eye" or centre of pansy purple (purplish red). 

 The variety, Vivid, amaranth pink (light rose) 

 with a small eye of amaranth purple (bright pur- 

 plish red), is well worthy of note, although it does 

 not grow so rapidly as some other varieties. In 

 the lilac shades, there is a form listed by at least 

 ■one nursery firm as Phlox Stellaria, but it appears 

 to be a variety of P. subulata rather than the true 

 species of that name; it is a vigorous grower and 

 bears flowers of a pale lobelia violet color (pale 

 lilac) with a very small eye of deep blue violet 

 (intense blue violet). The flowers of P. subulata 

 lilacina, more commonly listed than the preceding, 

 are well described by the name. Nelsonii is a pure 

 white form, but is not so vigorous a grower as the 

 variety alba, which is white with a small eye. 



Phlox amoena, sometimes known as the Lovely 

 Phlox, is a creeping form with larger leaves and 

 flowers than in the Moss Pink. It deserves to 

 be more widely known than it is at present. With 

 its numerous flowers of a near light mallow purple 

 shade (light purplish rose) and its dense, trailing 

 habit of growth, it is an excellent plant for the 

 rock garden or for a dry, gravelly soil. 



Without question the best form of Phlox 

 divaricata is the variety Laphamii; growing to a 

 neight of twelve inches and producing an abun- 

 dance of light lavender-violet flowers (light lav- 

 ender-blue), it is indeed an attractive plant. It 

 holds its color much better than do other types. 



Phlox Arendsii, a cross between varieties of 

 Phlox paniculata and a seedling resulting from a 

 cross between Phlox divaricata and its variety 

 Laphamii, does not appear to be well fitted for a 

 heavy clay soil. Its greatest usefulness seems 

 to be in carrying over the season of bloom from 

 Phlox divaricata to Phlox sufFruticosa. 



The types which are usually referred to when 

 Hardy Phlox is mentioned are the varieties of 

 early and late-flowering summer Phlox, Phlox 



sufFruticosa and Phlox paniculata respectively. 

 They easily take rank with such other important 

 flowers as the Peony, the Delphinium, and the Iris. 

 The varieties of the sufFruticosa type usually 

 come into bloom in the early part of June and 

 continue in bloom throughout a part of July. 

 If the panicles are removed as soon as the season 

 of bloom has passed, lateral branches will de- 

 velop which will give a second crop of bloom later 

 in the season (This also holds true for varieties 



The 



' paniculata " varieties have the greatest range of colors 

 and are the latest to flower 



of the late-flowering type). The color range in 

 this group is quite limited. The predominant 

 types are (i) white, (2) white with an eye more 

 or less sharply defined, or some shade of mallow 

 purple (purplish rose) or a closely related color, 

 and (3) shades of mallow purple and closely re- 

 lated colors. 



One of the best varieties of the sufFruticosa type (in fact, one of the 

 best of all Hardy Phlox) is the variety Miss Lingard. Frequently 

 catalogued as a pure white, it usually shows faint markings at the 

 centre of mallow pink (faint purplish rose). However, at a dis- 

 tance, the flowers appear to be pure white. With its fine panicles of 

 bloom, frequently one foot in length, and growing to an average 

 height of thirty-eight inches, it is indeed a valuable variety. 



Miss Cook, white with a sharply defined eye of aster purple 

 (purplish red) is one of the best of this type; its average height is 

 twenty-eight inches. It is to be preferred to Mrs. Dalrymple because 

 of its more free-blooming qualities. Keep in mind the fact that Miss 

 Cook is distinct from either Annie Cook or Mrs. Cook, two pani- 

 culata varieties. 



The Phlox paniculata group is the most im- 

 portant of all. In 191 7 there were listed in Amer- 

 ican catalogues at least five hundred and eighty- 

 four varieties of this type as compared with forty- 

 two varieties of the sufFruticosa type. Many of 

 these are certainly unworthy of cultivation because 

 there are so many others that are superior. Those 

 which are mentioned in the following paragraphs 

 have been selected as a few of the best in a col- 

 lection of several hundred varieties. It is true 

 that some of these varieties may not do well under 

 other conditions, but under the given conditions 

 they have proved very satisfactory. 



One of the first of the white-flowered types that come to mind is 

 the variety F. G. Von Lassburg (listed under various modifications, 

 of this name). This is the most commonly listed of the white forms 

 and is a very satisfactory variety. It grows to a height of thirty- 

 three inches and is usually at its best in the early part of August. 

 Albatre and Berenice (they are so similar that one is as good as the 

 other) are more dwarf, about twenty-one inches; they are in prime 

 condition at about the same time as the Von Lassburg. For an 

 extremely dwarf variety, what better could be desired than the 

 little Hermine, seldom more than ten inches, but a vigorous plant 

 with fine panicles of bloom? Fiancee has larger individual florets 

 than Hermine, but it is several inches taller. There seems to be 

 a need for a large-flowered, late-blooming white. Jeanne d' Arc, 

 averaging thirty-six inches, is one of the best at present; the panicles 

 are of excellent form and size, but the individual florets are rather 

 small. 



Bridesmaid may be selected as one of the best of the whites with 

 a dark eye or centre. In this form the eye is large, rhodamine 

 purple in color (an extremely bright purple-rose) and at its best 

 during the early part of August. In height it averages thirty-three 

 inches. La Perle du Nord, about twenty-four inches in height, with 

 an eye of aster purple (purplish red) is a late-blooming variety. A 

 very attractive form, but not very commonly listed, is the variety 

 Frau Bosch Bader, twenty-eight inches in height, with flowers of 

 white (described as an alabaster white) with a small eye of rhoda- 

 mine purple (an extremely bright purple-rose). 



Of the salmon shades, Elizabeth Campbell is without doubt the 

 most popular variety. It is listed almost as frequently as Miss 

 Lingard. It is of stocky habit, twenty-four inches tall, with florets 

 of a beautiful begonia rose (deep salmon-pink) shading lighter toward 

 the centre and a small eye of rhodamine purple. 



The variety Asia does not seem to produce a large number of 

 stalks, but it does produce elegant panicles of flowers. In height 

 it averages about thirty inches, light mallow purple (light purplish 

 rose) with a small eye of amaranth purple (bright purplish red). 

 Another good variety of this type is Cheszvick, a tall variety about 

 forty-five inches, light mallow purple with a small eye of rhodamine 

 purple. 



It is difficult to name a good scarlet variety because the scarlets 

 "burn" so easily in strong sunlight. Coqnelicot is listed very com- 

 monly but the plants under observation have been very unsatis- 

 factory. George A. Stroklein has done quite well but even in this 

 variety the color burns. It is about twenty-four inches in height, 

 in color a scarlet red with a small dark-red eye. 



Mme. Paul Dutrie should not be omitted from the list, for it is one 

 of the very attractive lighter shades. It may best be described as a 

 white, flushed with deep rose pink with a ve/y small eye of rhodamine 

 purple; in height it averages about thirty inches. 



Purple and red shades in the Phlox are in general not very pleas- 

 ing; the purples contain too much red and the reds contain too 

 much purple. But are we so eager to have these shades in our gar- 

 dens? Of the purples, Le Mahdi, a deep pansy violet (reddish 

 purple) is one of the best, and in the reds, B. Comte, a vivid aster 

 purple (a vivid purplish red) is one of the most desirable. 



There are considerable variations of forms in the flower heads of the Perem.,al Phlox as these portraits demonstrate. The plants also show decided differences of height which with the color distinc- 

 tions make effective groupings possible. The varieties above are (left to right) La Belle du Nord, Asia, Frau Bosch Bader, all described in the text 



