Due to its early and colorful flowering period, the low-growing cushion phlox (Phlox subulata) is a popular groundcover in many rock gardens and along bed edges and natural stone walls. The plants can also be propagated relatively easily for use as ground cover.

Cushion phlox spreads widely without any help

Sowing cushion phlox

In the garden trade, the cushion phlox is usually offered in the form of strong young plants in plant containers. These have the advantage that they can be planted relatively flexibly in the garden from spring to autumn. However, with a little care, it is also possible to grow the cushion phlox yourself from seeds. However, please note the following:

  • the phlox is a frost germ (which is why it should be sown outdoors before winter)
  • plants grown indoors at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius can be sensitive to frost
  • the delicate roots of small young plants can easily be injured when transplanting

Usually, sowing as a propagation method is only practiced with annual Phlox species, since the perennial cushion phlox can be propagated more easily in other species and is also only conditionally true to the variety when grown from seeds.

Vigorous specimens can be divided like other perennials

After a few years in the bed, you can carefully dig up particularly strong specimens of the cushion phlox in spring and carefully divide them with a sharp-edged spade. Be careful not to oversize the remaining pieces. In very sunny locations, it can make sense to combine propagation by division with pruning of particularly long shoots.

The rooting of cuttings

From May to July, the time for cutting cuttings of the cushion phlox is particularly favorable. To do this, cut off about 5 to 6 cm long head cuttings from the shoot ends of the plant and remove the lower leaf bases from these. Then stick the cuttings in loose substrate in a rather shady place in the garden. Keep this moderately moist for a few weeks until the cuttings have formed their own roots and can be transplanted.

tips

Like many other rock garden plants, the cushion phlox also tends to let its cushions hang over the edges of natural stone walls and rocks in the rock garden. When cutting off individual plant parts for reasons of propagation, note that large areas of the plant cushion are often not connected to the ground via roots. Always divide the plants so that all offshoots have a sufficiently large root portion.

Category:

Vegetable garden