Plant Species: Phlox speciosa, showy phlox
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicotyledons
Order: Solanales
Family: Polemoniaceae -- phlox family
Genus: Phlox
Species: speciosa
Variety:
Common Name: showy phlox
Species Code: PHSP
Origin: Native to dry, open places in sagebrush steppe, grasslands, and open pine forests from southern British Columbia to northern California and east to Nevada and Montana.
Rare: no
Form: perennial from a woody taproot, becoming shrubby at the base with age; stems erect, 15-40 cm tall; glandular or glandular-hairy at least on the pedicels and calyx, rarely glabrous overall.
Mature height: 6-16 inches
Duration: perennial
Longevity: long-lived
Habitat Type: prairie
Wetland Indicator Status: not listed
Leaves: opposite, sessile, linear to lanceolate, up to 7 cm long and 1 cm wide, margins entire.
Flowers: inflorescence cymose, terminal, leafy bracted below; each flower borne on a slender peduncle 3-20 mm long; corolla salverform, white to pink, tube 1-1.5 cm long, barely longer than the calyx, with 5 lobes 1-1.5 cm long, notched at the tip; style very short (0.5-2 mm long), shorter than the stigmas, stamens unequally inserted; calyx glandular, 7-10 mm long.
Flower color: pink, white
Bloom: May, June
Bloom starts on: mid May
Bloom ends on: early June
Fruit: capsule, few-seeded.
Vegetation type:
Characteristics:
Reproduces sexually by seed.
Perennating organ is a woody taproot. Plants are often shrubby at the base and may be considered subshrubs.
x=7 (University of British Columbia 2003).
Flowers are perfect.
Fruit is a capsule.
Seeds are expelled explosively.
Comments:
Sun requirement: full sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: xeric to mesic
Precipitation:
Fire:
Hazards:
Sowing time: fall
Transplant time: spring
Stratification: extended cold moist
Seed yield: medium
Seed harvest: medium difficulty
Seed first harvest: 3rd season
Seed cleaning: easy
Planting duration: long
Seed insect problem: none noted
Seed shatter: high
Seed size: medium
Seed harvest date: June
Seed comments: Plants flower and ripen seed indeterminately. Seed is explosively shed as soon as it ripens
Keywords: native perennial upland forb or subshrub
Alternate Genus:
Alternate Species:
Alternate Variety:
Other Propagation Information:
Probably best seeded outdoors in the fall, either in containers or directly in the ground.
While some Phlox species can be propagated by rooting small rosette or stem offshoots, propagating from seeds is most likely to succeed (Kruckeberg 1996).
Germinates best with 120 days of cold moist stratification in the dark. Germinates at low temperatures during stratification (Nauman 2002).
Can be propagated from seed, layering, or from new-growth cuttings (Parish et al 1996).
Reproduces sexually by seed.
Notes: Phlox speciosa has masses of pink flowers covering well grown plants in mid to late May. Leaves are narrow and needle-like. The plants are woody at least near the base. Seeds are expelled explosively when they mature. Seed needs long stratification and cool growing conditions, but they are gorgeous plants when in bloom and still look good afterward. Also known as showy phlox. (Skinner et al 2005).
References:
Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1996. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.
Nauman, C. 2002. Germination of 12 Palouse Prairie Forbs After Stratification Under Light and Dark Treatments. M.S. Thesis, University of Idaho, Moscow ID.
Parish, Roberta, Ray Coupe, and Dennis Lloyd. 1996. Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Skinner, David M., Paul Warnick, Bill French, and Mary Fauci. 2005. Characteristics and Uses of Native Palouse Forbs in Landscaping. USDA NRCS Pullman Plant Materials Center and Palouse Prairie Foundation. Online at http://www.wsu.edu/pmc_nrcs/Docs/Forbs_for_Landscaping.pdf
University of British Columbia. 2003. British Columbia Flora. University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research. Accessed 9/1/09 online at http://www.bcflora.org/