The most spectacular annual for your garden - Drummond phlox, planting and care, photo

Explain, please, how it differs from other types of Drummond phlox, planting and care, photos of a flowering plant are very interesting. I have two varieties, white and lilac, I don't remember the names, they have been growing in the garden for the third year. Their flowers are monochromatic and very fragrant, for which I love phlox. And I saw this variety recently in a seed store, it does not look like mine at all, the flowers are striped, with sharp petals. I bought it, the package says "Drummond" and nothing else. How to grow it? Sow directly to the flowerbed and where exactly? I bought my phloxes in small pieces, so I don’t know how to do it right.

Like most phloxes, this species will delight you with flowering all summer, but will not impress with its large dimensions. But you will get a great opportunity to diversify your rock garden or rabatka with compact bushes with bright flowers. This is an incredibly beautiful and very persistent Drummond phlox, planting and care (the photo will definitely be in the article) for which are simple. It is not afraid of the sun and drought, will survive sudden frosts and will continue to bloom until late autumn.

Drummond phlox salient features and description

Unlike other phloxes, which represent a group of perennials, Drummond is an annual species. It will have to be planted annually, but it's worth it, because the phlox blooms very magnificently. Numerous small flowers, the average diameter of which is about 2 cm, are collected in large caps of corymbose inflorescences. It seems that on low shoots there are no leaves at all, only flowers. The bushes themselves are also different - they are small, with an average height of 30 cm. There are higher varieties, but in general phloxes do not grow above 0.5 m.

Annual phlox can still be recognized by the shape of the flowers. Their petals are not rounded, but with sharp tips. This makes them look like stars. Moreover, in some varieties, the petals end in an elongated clove. The color is dominated by white, salmon, blue and lilac colors.

Phlox Drummond - planting and care, photo

The annual is grown exclusively by seed, because at the end of the season it dies off. You can sow seeds:

1. In early spring, in March, for seedlings. Plant seedlings in open ground not earlier than the end of May, when the frosts go away.
2. In the last decade of May, immediately into the open ground. Or at the end of October - at the beginning of November, when it snows. Just do not forget to cover the crops with a thick layer of snow on top.

The advantage of the seedling method is that phloxes will bloom in early summer. When sown in open ground, the flowering time is shifted by a month.

Drummond is best planted in the sun. It is there that phloxes will be able to fully reveal the beauty of their flowering. Avoid shady places. Also, these flowers do not like heavy clay soils, where there is a risk of decay. However, flowers will not be comfortable on sandstones either. There they will suffer from overheating of light soil, which is not able to retain moisture.

Caring for annual phlox

Growing Drummonda is almost no different from caring for her perennial brothers:

• water the plants regularly;
• loosen the soil between the bushes, but be careful not to damage the roots;
• mulch phlox with sawdust;
• as soon as the seedlings form several full leaves, carry out nitrogen feeding;
• from the moment the inflorescences form, fertilize with mineral (potassium-phosphorus) fertilizers.

Remove faded buds to prolong flowering.

And don't forget to collect the seeds in the fall to save Drummond. When the petals fall, cut the shoots and lay them out to dry. And then rub with your hands and wipe. Store seeds in paper bags.

Growing Drummond phlox through seedlings