Phlox maculata Alpha

The Phlox maculata 'Alpha' is a hybrid phlox close to the American botanical species, with the same fragrance, floribundity, and improved resistance to mildew than the paniculate phlox. Smaller than the latter, it also has a more flexible, leafy habit and produces an abundance of characteristic, narrow and tall panicles in midsummer, where small flowers of bright pink-lilac with a dark eye are tightly packed. This leafy perennial, a bit slower to establish than the paniculate phlox, will thrive in cool and humus-rich soil in the sun. It is also an excellent cut flower.

The 'Alpha' variety comes from Phlox maculata, a perennial and herbaceous species native to the meadows of the eastern USA, which belongs to the family of Polemoniaceae. It often grows near watercourses, on the edge of woodlands. Its woody stump forms a bushy clump composed of densely leafy stems reaching 70 to 80 cm (28 to 32in) in height and 50 cm (20in) in width. The solid stems, tinged with brown-purple, are covered with alternate, simple, ovate, and lanceolate leaves of a shiny dark green. Flowering begins in early July, at the height of summer, and continues until August, provided faded flower heads are removed. The small flowers have a tubular corolla of bright pink colour, more or less washed with mauve, barely marked with a tiny dark pink throat. They are grouped along the stems in dense and elongated panicles, highly fragrant at the end of the day. The flowering is melliferous and nectariferous.

Light, vibrant, flexible, loaded with flowers and often fragrant, Phlox are perennial plants made for cottage gardens, as their simplicity and generosity are almost unparalleled in perennial beds, to the point that one sometimes wonders what was planted in gardens before their discovery. They go well with 'Mohawk' Monardas or 'Wirral Supreme' Marguerites. Phlox 'Alpha' can be paired with gauras, cleomes, and Oriental poppies but also with perennial delphiniums that appreciate the same conditions. Tall phlox make good companions for bush roses in colour harmony. Phlox paniculata 'Alpha' is a first-rate perennial for flowering beds and composing your bouquets at home.