pruning tall phlox

[laura]

I'm sorry if this question is a repeat. I was unable to confirm the
first one I posted. Is it advisable or necessary to prune tall phlox
back to the ground each fall? I have been doing this to avoid the mess
left by dying stalks, and the phlox comes back every year but they
don't seem to flower as much as they used to do. Any suggestions?

[dr-solo@wi.rr.xx.com]

OTOH, how do I get rid of phlox. it has taken over my mother's gardens and I am
trying to get rid of it. we cut most of it back, dug some out. is it annual in zone
5? Ingrid


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[paghat]

In article >,
wrote:

> OTOH, how do I get rid of phlox. it has taken over my mother's gardens
and I am
> trying to get rid of it. we cut most of it back, dug some out. is it
annual in zone
> 5? Ingrid

It ain't always easy, but if you keep cutting it down, it'll eventually
use up all its root-stored energy & melt away.

I've dug up one clump on two occasions to get rid of it, & the second time
I dug it up, I planted a peegee hydrangea in the hole the phlox came out
of. Yet it has regenerated from root remnants each time, & is now growing
out of the base of the peegee. One of the places where I tossed some of it
aside, it rooted itself & became a big healthy clump. The attempt to
discard it means I now have it in three places instead of one. But I've
enjoyed its antics so it doesn't really bother me; I think of it as an
heroic perennial. If it seriously wasn't wanted I could do it in in one
season, but halfhearted efforts just encourage it.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com