Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
- 1) P. ‘Kelly’s Eye’
- 2) P. douglasii ‘Red Admiral’
- 3) P. subulata ‘McDaniel’s Cushion’
- 4) P. subulata ‘Red Wings’
- 5) P. divaricata subsp. laphamii ‘Chattahoochee’
- 6) P. paniculata ‘Mother of Pearl’
- 7) P. paniculata ‘Monica Lynden-Bell’
- 8) P. paniculata ‘Velvet Flame’
- 9) P. maculata ‘Natascha’
- 10) P. × arendsii ‘Luc’s Lilac’
- 11) P. paniculata ‘White Admiral’
- 12) P. paniculata ‘Franz Schubert’
- 13) P. paniculata Peacock Cherry Red
- 14) P. paniculata ‘Le Mahdi’
- 15) P. maculata ‘Alpha’
- 16) P. maculata ‘Omega’
- 17) P. glaberrima ‘Bill Baker’
- 18) P. paniculata ‘Visions’
- 19) P. paniculata ‘David’s Lavender’
- 20) P. paniculata ‘The King’
The dainty flowers of this fully hardy perennial are usually in pinks and purples but some varieties produce white and red blooms too.
Phlox cultivars descend from the hybridisation of several different species.
As a result, they range from a dinky 10cm in height up to 1.25m.
This plant’s diversity extends to its habits: they come in mat-forming, clump-forming, bushy, and upright types with dozens of varieties of each habit.
Phlox plants also have varieties that are perfect for rockeries, containers, borders, beds, mass plantings – and everything else.
What’s more, many varieties are butterfly magnets, just as many are scented and fragrant, and some are both.
Boasting so many attractions, it is to be expected that about 90 phlox varieties are recipients of the RHS’s Award of Garden Merit.
Little wonder, then, that all of my top picks in this list are AGM winners.
Here are my favourite 20 of these beautiful deciduous perennials:
1) P. ‘Kelly’s Eye’
- COMMON NAME(S): Phlox ‘Kelly’s Eye’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: Up to 10cm in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing to about 12cm with a similar spread, ‘Kelly’s Eye’ has pointy deep green leaves which are marvellously set off by the small blush-pink flowers with prominent scarlet eyes.
This mat-forming evergreen is an early-flowering type, producing blooms from May.
2) P. douglasii ‘Red Admiral’
- COMMON NAME(S): Phlox ‘Red Admiral’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
At the upper end of the mat-forming types, ‘Red Admiral’ rises to about 15cm.
It has deep green pointed foliage that is evergreen.
The 1.5cm flowers are lustrous magenta crimson and are produced in profusion from May into mid-summer.
3) P. subulata ‘McDaniel’s Cushion’
- COMMON NAME(S): Moss phlox ‘McDaniel’s cushion’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: Up to 10cm in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
One of the most popular mat-forming varieties, ‘McDaniel’s Cushion’ is only 10cm tall but its flowers are comparatively big at 3cm across and are of a striking, candy pink tone.
Its evergreen foliage is of a brilliant deep green hue.
4) P. subulata ‘Red Wings’
- COMMON NAME(S): Moss phlox ‘red wings’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: Up to 10cm in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
One of the runaway winners in the mat-forming popularity sweepstakes, ‘Red Wings’ features evergreen foliage of a rich, deep tone and grows to about 12cm.
Blooming from May, its flowers are of a bright purplish-pink tone with a vivid carmine eye.
5) P. divaricata subsp. laphamii ‘Chattahoochee’
- COMMON NAME(S): Sweet William ‘chattahoochee’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Purple and blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: Up to 10cm in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Rising to about 15cm, ‘Chattahoochee’ has lanceolate foliage and displays purplish stems which are ornamental in their own right.
This summer-blooming, mat-forming variety bears gently-scented flowers in clusters; they are of a soothing lilac shade centred with purple eyes.
“Phlox ‘Chattahoochee’ is a cultivar of a subspecies of P. divaricata, a woodland plant,” says Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“It will grow in partial or full shade and I love growing it under trees, where its flowers will follow on from late spring bulbs from May to June.”
6) P. paniculata ‘Mother of Pearl’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘Mother of Pearl’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Rising to about 75cm and exhibiting deep, dark green lanceolate leaves, ‘Mother of Pearl’ features fragrant flowers of a most unusual pink-tinged chalky white shade.
This clump-forming, deciduous perennial produces these flowers in panicles from mid-summer into autumn.
7) P. paniculata ‘Monica Lynden-Bell’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘Monica Lynden-Bell’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
A clump-forming, deciduous perennial that reaches up to 80cm, ‘Monica Lynden-Bell’ displays foliage of an appealing hue of rich green.
The scented flowers that appear from mid-summer are of even more appealing hues that vary from pink-suffused white to soft baby pink.
8) P. paniculata ‘Velvet Flame’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘velvet flame’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Purple and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Featuring brilliant green ovate foliage and about 60cm tall, ‘Velvet Flame’ lives up to its name; its flowers, besides being fragrant, exhibit a velvety sheen.
Appearing from mid-summer to autumn, they are rich magenta-purple with a large white eye.
This is a clump-forming variety.
9) P. maculata ‘Natascha’
- COMMON NAME(S): Meadow phlox ‘Natascha’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing to about 90cm with pretty bright green linear leaves, ‘Natascha’ has a relatively short flowering season between June and July.
However, it makes up for it by producing copious clump-forming clusters of fragrant bi-coloured blooms with delightful light pink and white radial stripes.
10) P. × arendsii ‘Luc’s Lilac’
- COMMON NAME(S): Phlox ‘Luc’s Lilac’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 0.5-1m spread
Though of a clump-forming habit, heights of 1m are common for ‘Luc’s Lilac.’
This deciduous perennial retires earlier than usual in autumn but the ovate leaves are of a very striking intense green, while the scented flowers are of a rich mauve-purple tone.
11) P. paniculata ‘White Admiral’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘White Admiral’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: White
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1cm in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Though technically of a bushy habit, one may mistake the 90cm tall ‘White Admiral’ for an upright variety.
It has rich, dark green lanceolate leaves and its dense panicles of very fragrant snow-white flowers, which bloom for about two months, are simply magical.
12) P. paniculata ‘Franz Schubert’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘Franz Schubert’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 0.5-1m spread
Of a bushy habit but liable to be mistaken for an upright type, ‘Franz Schubert’ frequently crosses the 1m mark in height.
It puts on a lovely show in summer, as it bears gradated flowers that are light purple near the centre and soften to pale pink around the edges.
13) P. paniculata Peacock Cherry Red
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox [peacock cherry red]
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
A bushy, deciduous perennial growing to about 60cm, ‘Peacock Cherry Red’ has lanceolate leaves of a brilliant green shade.
Even more brilliant are the clusters of dusky pink-red flowers that it produces from mid-summer, with the bonus of a sweet scent.
14) P. paniculata ‘Le Mahdi’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘Le Mahdi’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Rising to about 1m and not boasting a long flowering season, the bushy type ‘Le Mahdi’ flaunts other charms.
It has dark, smoky green foliage which is more than matched by lustrous flowers of a saturated magenta-purple tone, which also exude a fragrance as sensuous as their colour.
15) P. maculata ‘Alpha’
- COMMON NAME(S): Meadow phlox ‘Alpha’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing to about 90cm, ‘Alpha’ tends to get started early in the season, and also winds up on the early side in autumn.
It has light, bright green foliage over which it bears panicles of fragrant little flowers of a light and bright magenta-pink hue.
This variety is a bushy type.
16) P. maculata ‘Omega’
- COMMON NAME(S): Meadow phlox ‘omega’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Red and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing to about 90cm and one of the short-flowering varieties, ‘Omega’ has unremarkable foliage but has truly remarkable flowers which it bears in panicles.
The 2.5cm blooms are wonderfully fragrant and are pure white with a salmon-pink eye.
‘Omega’ is an upright type of phlox.
17) P. glaberrima ‘Bill Baker’
- COMMON NAME(S): Smooth phlox ‘Bill Baker’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Rising to only 40-50cm, ‘Bill Baker’ is an upright, deciduous perennial that has pretty foliage with linear-lanceolate leaves of a soothing mid-green shade.
It produces delightful little flowers that are of a soft baby pink tone with white centres and which have a silky sheen.
18) P. paniculata ‘Visions’
- COMMON NAME(S): Perennial phlox ‘visions’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing up to 1.2m tall and displaying lance-shaped leaves of a fresh, bright green shade, the upright ‘Visions’ starts early in spring and finishes up by autumn.
In mid-summer, it produces clusters of salver-shaped, fragrant flowers of a purplish-pink hue with magenta centres.
19) P. paniculata ‘David’s Lavender’
- COMMON NAME(S): Phlox ‘David’s Lavender’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 0.5-1m spread
Technically of an upright habit, ‘David’s Lavender’ forms mounds and may be mistaken for a bushy type.
Its elliptic leaves are of a rich deep green and the clusters of scented flowers it bears in summer range in colouration from pink through lavender to mauve.
20) P. paniculata ‘The King’
- COMMON NAME(S): Phlox ‘The King’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERS: Pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 0.5-1m spread
A very tall, upright variety that often reaches a stately 1.2m – ‘The King’ is aptly named because its dense, rounded clusters of fragrant purplish flowers are often of a rich royal violet tone.
The rich deep green shade of the foliage provides a fine backdrop for the intensely-coloured blooms.
