Silly Question about Phlox David

[lisamarie]

I planted Phlox David last week. The blooms and foliage look healthy, but the individual white flowers are shedding all over the place - like snowflakes. Is this normal and should I leave the flowers on the ground or pick them up each day?

[rainbowgardener]

It's probably dropping some blossoms due to heat stress. In heat like this is a tough time to get new plants established. Be sure you water frequently -- but water the soil, not the leaves. Garden phlox is one of those plants like bee balm and others that is prone to powdery mildew. So don't water the leaves and don't plant them too close -- you want good air circulation.

Usually the flowers would turn brown first. If they don't drop on their own, clip them off when the flowers are spent.

Why in the world would anyone bother picking up flower petals off the ground? They will turn brown later and not be as pretty, but they will quickly disappear, having broken down to feed the soil.

[buzzcut]

wish I could "pic" my phlox 'david' for you. it's probably 3.5-4ft wide and full of blooms! plus, have a volunteer growing beside it.

it is a well established plant and more impressive than I would have imagined. it was given to me by a lady when I was touring her garden.

mine took longer than expected to look the way it does now, but, very impressive. a little patience and you will be impressed.

[lisamarie]

Well - - the good news is all three Davids haven't bit the dust yet...despite the heat, tremendous wind storms, and now cool temperatures. Perhaps they are like my mother-in-law and need a lot of time to adapt to a new environment. The stems are pretty bare now because they've dropped most of their lower leaves, but I do see some new growth on two of them. Let's hope I can get through the fall and that they reappear in the spring!

[shadowsmom]

Let's hope I can get through the fall and that they reappear in the spring!

The odds are in your favor! They are tougher than they look and will probably look great next year.