Hardy, pest free and easy to grow, creeping phlox is a spring-blooming plant with a lot to offer the garden.
Cultivation Information and How to Grow Creeping Phlox
Botanical and Common Name: Phlox subulata is known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, ground pinks or rock pinks.
Plant Category: Creeping phlox is a semi-evergreen perennial hardy in zones 3-9.
Bloom Time and Color: This phlox blooms in mid spring and is available in several vibrant shades including white, pink, purple, blue and rose.
Foliage: The foliage of the moss phlox is fine cut, needlelike foliage on wiry stems that hug the ground.
Growth Habit: The plants tend to grow in a dense mat that looks great as a natural edging around beds and borders.
Dimensions: While creeping phlox tends to grow only about 4 inches tall, it will spread 12 to 24 inches creating a nice ground cover that doesn't get out of control.
Maintenance: After a year or two of growing, the creeping phlox can begin to look bedraggled and in need of refreshing. To perk the blooming moss plants gardeners should remove any old, dead stems, trim an inch off the top of the entire plant, and cut back the longest outside stems by about half. If gardeners will do this trimming after the blooms have faded, they will have bushier growth through the summer and revived flowering the next year.
Pests or Diseases: Creeping phlox has no pest or disease problems.
Propagation Methods: This attractive spring-bloomer is readily available from garden centers or plant nurseries, however creeping phlox can be layered successfully to propagate new plants.
Using Creeping Phlox in the Garden
Preferred Conditions: Plant creeping phlox in full sun to part shade and a well-draining location to keep this plant happy.
Companion Plants: Combine creeping phlox with other spring blooming plants like daffodils, tulips or early-blooming iris plants for a colorful spring garden. Or use it as part of a rock garden and combine with other plants that prefer quick draining soil.
Seasons of Interest: Creeping phlox provides year round interest in the garden because of the semi-evergreen foliage that keeps color in the garden through fall and winter months when other plants loose their leaves. The profuse flowers appear for two or three weeks in early to mid spring.
Uses in the Garden: Use creeping phlox for perennial borders, path edges, between stepping stones, on rock garden ledges, etc.
Popular Creeping Phlox Cultivars
Creeping phlox is often labeled by color only "Pink Creeping Phlox", etc. but many named cultivars do exist.
- Scarlet Flame - A brightly colored, near red phlox moss plant.
- Sapphire Blue - Beautiful, almost true blue flowering creeping moss.
- Emerald Blue - A lavender blue flowering creeping moss.
- Candy Stripe - Pale pink flowers with bright pink stripes through the center of each petal. An unusual bicolored creeping phlox.
- White Delight - As expected, this is a fresh, white blooming moss phlox plant.
Left to slowly spread into a ground-hugging mat, the creeping phlox plants will transform your garden each spring into a carpet of bright colors. A must have plant for colorful spring gardens.
Angela England - Angela England is a problogger, mother of four (yes I know what causes that), speaker, teacher, labor doula, gardener and so much more.
Join the Conversation