26-09-2004, 05:11 PM
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In article ,
(laura) wrote:
I have been cutting my tall phlox back to the ground every year,
usually in the fall to avoid the mess left by the dead stalks in the
spring. They seem to be okay with this treatment and come back every
year, but I wonder if this process is advisable or necessary. Also,
I've recently learned that they should be fed regularly.Does anyone
have suggestions for year-end care?
For mine, after their first flush of flower, I cut them back, & they have
a second flush of flower (two varieties are in rebloom right now). When
the second bloom is over, I may or may not cut them back again, mainly
depends on if they look crappy enough to make me take the time, or if I
want to thin down the area to get maximum light to the ground where there
are bulbs planted. The phlox in the sunniest spots get interesting
seedheads from the second flowering, & these last through much of autumn &
feed the birds, so I'm never in any hurry to remove them. Though if there
were ever hints of powdery mildew I'd clip 'em back at once, which I have
to do with most of the beebalms but never yet the phloxes.
-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
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