Fab Phlox

A great joy of the late summer garden is fragrant phlox. Their sweet scent and old-fashioned charm lighten up August's shortening days and flagging flora ....but too often the pastel simplicity of their flowers are marred by sickly leaves. These pretty perennials are prone to a plague of powdery mildew.

Now Sunshine Farms is introducing a new phlox that resists powdery mildew. Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' is vigorous, and grows only two feet high, about half the height of the straight species. The flowers are lavender-pink and long-lasting. Let's hope 'Jeana' is as healthy in our climate as claimed  (the phlox was extensively tested in Tennessee). You can order these new phlox retail from Sunshine Farm and Gardens; I'd expect them to be generally available in nurseries within a year or so.

Here's a photo (courtesy of Sunshine Farm and Gardens) of the new bionic phlox, and a comparison of typical phlox leaves infected with powdery mildew vs. the healthy 'Jeana' leaves on the right:

Comments

[anon]

Hi-
Just to let you know, Ellen Hornig/Seneca Hill Perennials was selling that Phlox a decade ago!

[Nancy C]

Funny, I JUST discovered phlox this past week (don't ask me how I managed to miss it) - because I have been noticing the fragrant clumps of white flowers around Skagit Valley. Some of these look pretty large to me, though, so I'm not sure I have room (and I do prefer the white ones). Can you tell me something about how it behaves? Can it be kept reigned in, if so, how? (Just cutting back new shoots?)

[Jeana P]

Phlox 'Jeana' is my baby. Ellen hasn't had it for quite 10 years, but she's had it for a good long while. Barry likes to claim introducing it, but it was introduced by Ellen. Also, I've asked Barry to correct his description of it, but he hasn't. It gets FAR taller than 2'. If really happy and unpruned, it'll up to 5' tall since it's a sterile interspecific hybrid and is quite vigorous. But its height can easily be kept to about 2-1/2' with pruning.