pruning tall phlox
 

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?

--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle
"laura" wrote in message
om...
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.

I cut mine back in April, so that they're not six foot tall. When I leave
the stalks on, the pollinated flowers sow seeds of a volunteer for me. And
the spent stalks and seeds provide food for the finches and other little
birds.


Also,
I've recently learned that they should be fed regularly.Does anyone
have suggestions for year-end care?

Feed with a time release like Osmocote in the late winter,early spring or
top dress with finished compost.
madgardener

"laura" wrote in message
om...
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?

It is never a "requirement" to cut back the dead stalks of perennials but
most gardeners do, just for the sake of tidiness. Doesn't hurt the plant a
bit and with things like phlox which are prone to powdery mildew, getting
rid of old, diseased foliage can improve the vigor and certainly the
appearance in the following season. When you do it - late fall or early
spring - is your choice. If the plant did have powdery mildew, I'd opt for
fall - best not to let the spores linger around any longer than necessary.
Destroy any diseased foliage - don't compost it.

And for the most part, fertilizing perennials is also unnecessary. If you
have good soil and amend it regularly with wth compost or other organic
matter, that is all the fertilizer they need. One doesn't actually "feed"
plants - they manufacture their own food through the process of
photosynthensis - just maintaining the quality of the soil is sufficient.
Over-fertilizing will lead to leggy and overly lush growth that attracts
insect and disease problems.

pam - gardengal

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