Phlox paniculata is an erect herbaceousperennial growing to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 100 cm (39 in) wide, with opposite, simpleleaves on slender green stems. The flowers are 1.5–2.5 cm (0.6–1.0 in) in diameter, often strongly fragrant and borne in summer through fall (autumn).[10] The flowers are grouped in panicles (with many branching stems), hence the specific epithetpaniculata.[11] Typical flower colors in wild populations are pink or purple (rarely white).[12]
Pure white wild population
Fruit and seeds
Distribution and habitat
Fall phlox is native to parts of the central and eastern United States. It occurs as an introduced species in other parts of the United States,[2] Canada,[9], Europe,[13] and Asia.[13] In the Chicago Region it is questionably native, or native populations may have all been destroyed: "populations in our area appear to be escapes from gardens to nearby woods and waste ground, which no doubt accounts for all collections since 1945".[14]
In its natural range, it grows along streambanks and in moist wooded areas.[5]
Cultivation
Phlox paniculata is grown largely for its showy fragrant flowers in high summer. It requires a sheltered spot with full sun or partial shade, in fertile moist soil. Plants may be propagated by division or root cuttings in autumn, or by basal cuttings in spring.[15]
Plants make excellent cut flowers. In hot, dry areas they are sensitive to powdery mildew, and affected stems should be removed immediately.[16]
^ abWeakley, Alan S. (2018), Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, working draft of 20 August 2018, University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
^Reznicek, A. A.; Voss, E. G.; Walters, B. S., eds. (February 2011). "Phloxpaniculata". Michigan Flora Online. University of Michigan Herbarium. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
^Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 697. ISBN0-394-50432-1.
