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Phlox stolonifera

Creeping phlox

Polemoniaceae

Appalachian region of eastern North America

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Fragrant (light)Container Friendly

Native to North America

SunPart Shade – Full Shade

WaterMedium

HardinessZones 3–8

Overview

Phlox stolonifera is a stoloniferous perennial forming a mat 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) deep that widens 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) a year, with flowering stems rising to 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) in spring. Creeping shoots root at the nodes and carry paired obovate to spoon-shaped leaves 0.5-1.5 inches (13-38 mm) long, dark green, sparsely hairy, and held through winter in zones 6-8. Flowering stems are upright, with two or three pairs of smaller elliptic leaves and a loose cluster of 6-12 flowers at the tip. Each flower is salverform, 0.75-1 inch (2-2.5 cm) across, with five rounded lobes in blue-violet, lavender, pink, or white spreading flat from a narrow tube 0.5-0.75 inch (13-19 mm) long. Flowering runs three to four weeks in April and May and carries a light sweet scent. Mats thin and open at the centre where soil dries out in summer, and spider mites stipple the foliage in hot dry weather. Deer and rabbits graze the mats to ground level in spring, and the shallow rooting makes trampled areas slow to close. Hardy in USDA zones 3-8.

Native Range

Phlox stolonifera is native to the Appalachian region of eastern North America, from Pennsylvania and Ohio south through West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee to northern Georgia. It grows in rich, moist woodland, on shaded stream banks, and along the lower slopes of coves, rooting in leaf litter over loam. Populations at the northern edge of the range are tracked as rare by several state heritage programmes.

Suggested Uses

Used as groundcover in woodland gardens, along shaded path edges, under deciduous shrubs, and spilling over the tops of shaded walls, spaced 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) apart for closed cover within two seasons. The mats combine with spring bulbs, which push up through the low foliage, and with ferns that expand as flowering finishes. Container culture works in wide pans of 2 gallons (7.5 L) or larger, with the stolons trailing over the rim.

How to Identify

Two stem types run together in a colony: prostrate shoots that root at each node and carry rounded to spoon-shaped leaves, and upright flowering stems with narrower opposite leaves. Corolla lobes are rounded and entire at the tip, spreading flat from a narrow tube, and each cluster holds 6-12 blooms. P. divaricata is separated by a clumping habit with no rooting stolons, flowering stems 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) tall, and lance-shaped leaves. P. subulata carries stiff needle-like leaves 0.25-0.5 inch (6-13 mm) long on woody mats in open sun, with corolla lobes deeply notched at the tip.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 1'

Width/Spread1' - 2'

Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Fall Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~4 weeks

Spring

Flowering opens in early April in zones 7-8 and in early to mid-May in zones 3-5, running three to four weeks. Buds form on the previous season prostrate growth, so a mat sheared in autumn flowers thinly the following spring. The scent is light and sweet and carries 3-6 feet (1-2 m) on warm still afternoons. Butterflies including spring azures and swallowtails, along with long-tongued bees, work the narrow tubes.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

Blue-violet, lavender, pink, or white

Foliage Description

Dark green, obovate to spoon-shaped on creeping shoots

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunPartial Shade SunFull Shade

Requires 2-6 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam silt peat

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

2 years to closed cover

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Two to six hours of morning sun with shade through the afternoon matches the woodland conditions where the species grows; in full sun the mat browns and thins by midsummer unless soil stays constantly damp. The species roots in humus-rich, loose, free-draining soil at pH 5.5-7.0, with leaf litter or compost worked into the top 4 inches (10 cm) before planting. Roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week holds the mat closed through summer, and the shallow rooting means a dry fortnight shows as browning within days. A 1-inch (2.5 cm) topdressing of leaf mould in autumn, brushed between the shoots rather than over them, replaces annual feeding. Mats are lifted and divided in early autumn or straight after flowering, with rooted sections replanted 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) apart. Air movement across the mat lowers powdery mildew, which shows as grey patches on the upper leaf surfaces in humid summers.

Pruning

Flowering stems are cut back to the prostrate mat once the last flowers fade in late May or June, which clears the surface and directs growth into stolon extension. Shearing the whole mat in autumn removes the flower buds already set for the following spring. Stolons that run past the intended edge are cut and lifted at any point in the growing season.

Pruning Schedule

late spring