Sowing Phlox Drummond for seedlings

Common phlox (Phlox) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Sinyukhov family (Polemoniaceae). In Our Country, only one species of these wild plants is found – Siberian phlox. It grows in mountainous regions, spreading along gorges and mountain steeps. Its main habitat is North America. There are 85 varieties of phlox, of which about 40 species have been cultivated. The seeds of a wild plant came to Europe in the XNUMXth century. At the same time, their mass cultivation began. The only one-year-old type of phlox that we will talk about today is Drummond’s phlox, which you see in the photo.

History

Since the middle of the XNUMXth century, Drummond’s phlox has become popular not only in America, but also in European countries, this became possible thanks to the traveler from England, Henry Drummond, who, while in the US state of Texas, discovered an unusual flower and sent its seeds to his English relatives who love extraordinary plants. Experiments and experiments with the flower were further developed. As a result, several varieties of annual phlox were obtained, different in color and shape of flowers.

The word phlox is translated from Greek as “flame”, if you combine these two words, you get – the flame of Drummond.

Many years have passed since the discovery of the wild form of Drummond Phlox. During this time, breeders involved in the cultivation of plants have achieved significant results in breeding new varieties. About two dozen names of annual Drummond phloxes already adorn gardens and parks, flower beds and alleys. Amateur flower growers and garden landscape designers plant them in their unique compositions.

Morphology

The structure of such plants has indicators common to all varieties:

1. Root – forms many branched appendages, strong, superficial.
2. The stems are erect, sticky and branched, covered with small sparse hairs.
3. The leaves are alternate, their shape is elongated-oval or lanceolate, have sharp ends, the upper leaves lie close to the stem.
4. The brushes are wide and dense, the perianth has a 5-lobed limb, turning into a tapering tube.
5. Drummond’s phlox flowers are bright, small in size, only up to 4 cm in diameter, have a monochrome color of different colors, or a combination of 2-3 shades.
6. The fruit is a small oval capsule.

Drummond’s phlox blooms for a long time, from May until the onset of a serious cold snap in October. The varietal characteristics of phloxes may differ slightly in the shape of the leaves, the size, structure and color of the petals, the timing of the onset and continuation of flowering.

Sorts

Phlox variety Drummond “Caramel”: a highly branched bush, reaches a height of 40-60 cm, the flowers are painted in caramel, golden color, the middle of the flowers is raspberry-cherry, the petals are trapezoidal, the edges are rounded, smooth.

Phlox variety Drummond “Chanel”: height no more than 30 cm, double flowers, medium in size (up to 3 cm), blooms densely, petals are multi-layered, do not fade in bright sun, the color is almost monochrome in pink tones.

Phlox variety Drummond “Flickering Star”: one of the representatives of star-shaped varieties, of which there are more than a dozen species in terms of the variety of petal colors, the shape of the flower clearly resembles a stylized shining star, tricolor petals are divided into many pointed lobes, some of which are thin and elongated. The size of the flower is about 2-3 cm, but they attract attention with their abundance and unusual appearance.

Cultivation from seeds

All Drummond phloxes are propagated only by seeds, as it is an annual crop. They can be sown directly into the ground if there is no need to speed up the start of flowering. If desired, this process is significantly reduced, but first seedlings are grown from seeds.

Seeding on seedlings

They begin to sow seeds in April, on which days the Lunar calendar can tell you to do this, choose the days favorable for planting flowers:

• prepared soil for flowers is poured into sterile containers for seedlings, not reaching the upper edge by 2 cm;
• moisten the soil with warm water, adding (if desired) a little growth stimulant;
• phlox seeds are sown in a certain order or randomly poured, this is not so important;
• you don’t need to press the seeds, just pour the same substrate on top with a layer thickness of 1-1,5 cm;
• it is better to water through a strainer or from a watering can with small holes so that the seeds do not budge and do not stray into one pile;
• after watering, it is necessary to close the container with plastic wrap, preferably black, so that under the influence of light the balance of development of the root and apical parts of the sprout is not disturbed;
• daily, the film is removed for several minutes to ventilate the plantings; when the substrate dries, the earth must be moistened;
• after a week or a little more, when the cotyledon leaves appear, the film is removed completely, the container can now be installed closer to the light;
• when 2-3 main leaves grow, phlox sprouts dive and plant each plant in separate pots;
• after transplantation, some time should pass for the phlox seedlings to take root in a new place, if the seedling has successfully passed this stage, reward it by feeding it with nitrogen fertilizers to accelerate growth;

  

  

• in the future, the usual care of seedlings is carried out: watering, removing wilted leaves, top dressing;
• to form a more lush and compact plant, after the growth of the 6th leaf, pinch the top;
• hardening of phlox seedlings is carried out a month before planting seedlings in the ground, taking them out into the open air for 1-2 hours a day, each time increasing the initial duration;
• ready-made phlox seedlings can be planted in the ground in May, when the weather is quite warm.

Sowing in the ground

Seedlings are planted in open flower beds or in greenhouses in April or May, it depends on the climatic conditions of the region. If these are the southern regions, and you are not in a hurry to get flowers, then Drummond’s phlox seeds are sown directly into the ground at the same time. Phlox flowering will start a month later, but you will be exempt from the process of growing seedlings. In this case, we recommend that you comply with the following conditions:

1. If you sowed the seeds in the simplest way – scattering them around the flower bed, then when friendly shoots appear, thin out the plantings. Sprouts that are close to each other will greatly interfere with the development and flowering of neighboring seedlings in the future. Remove the weakest plants carefully, keeping the strong growth close to the root.
2. If you decide to grow high Drummond phloxes (up to 60 cm) and their dwarf varieties (up to 20 cm) in the same flower bed, do it in such a way that in the future the tall ones do not obscure the undersized neighbors.
3. Sowing tall phlox should be done a month earlier so that they bloom at the same time as dwarf plants.
4. In open ground, according to experienced flower growers, it is possible to sow Drummond phlox seeds before winter. They tolerate wintering well, shoots are friendly and early in spring. In this case, a special mixture of seeds “Tapestry” is very suitable. It contains phloxes of the most iridescent colors. In the photo below you see a flower bed with such mature flowers.

We suggest watching the video, which is posted at the end of the page, it shows how to sow Drummond’s Phlox seeds correctly, here you will get practical experience and some tips from an experienced grower.

Care

Phloxes are not picky in care, they will not cause any special problems for gardeners, you should only perform the usual care of garden plantings:

• timely watering if the soil under the flowers is dry;
• weed control, constant removal of wilted inflorescences so that the formation of new ovaries is not inhibited;
• loosening the soil for better air supply to the roots of the plant;
• top dressing combined with watering – twice a month;
• disease prevention, spraying plantings with chemicals from pests, if they are in large quantities.

Florists and amateur gardeners perform such work all the time, not considering it a burdensome problem.

Diseases and pests

Conscientious seed producers, before packing seeds in packages, treat them with antifungal agents. If you do not trust them, you can protect the seedlings yourself by treating the seeds before sowing in a solution of potassium permanganate, soaking them for 30 minutes. The solution should not be highly concentrated.

It will be more difficult to get rid of pests that hide in the ground, attacking phloxes before or during flowering. These include:

• different types of filamentous microscopic worms: if plants affected by the worm are found, they should be immediately removed from the flower bed, and the ground should be treated with chemicals;
• slugs and caterpillars that eat phlox leaves and flowers: you need to remove visible specimens of pests manually, sprinkle the flower bed with wood ash, tobacco chips or lime.

Advice! Preventive work is best done a few days before planting seeds or seedlings of phlox in the ground. For this, special tools are used that are commercially available. Then follow the instructions on the packages.

Use in Design

Bright and multi-colored Drummond phlox can be used in interior and exterior design. Citizens decorate their apartments, balconies and loggias with them. Owners of country houses and estates use them in landscape design when decorating the facades of houses, paths, alpine hills. Summer residents in their small plots also allocate places for them in flower beds. Villagers plant them in front gardens.

Nowhere and never will this flower interfere, will not upset with its appearance, but will only delight others with its beauty, abundant flowering, iridescent colors and divine aroma.

If you have a free piece of land, even in the front garden under the balcony, we recommend planting phloxes there, you will not regret it. The aroma of these amazing flowers will wake you up in the morning, cheer you up and add good spirits.