Growing Good Garden Phlox

Friday, August 5, 2011

A quiet day on the mountain. Birds are talking back and forth and a doe just moved through tall goldenrod to snack on fresh cut field grass. She looked up towards my office window a couple times, but breakfast seemed more important.

There are television channels numbered "3" all over the US and Vermont has its very own Channel 3 from Burlington,Vermont. I know the station well as it started broadcasting soon after our family moved to Vermont in the early 50's. We were the only family in our area with a television and people came to sit and watch. The antenna came with us from New York and as city relatives came for visits they brought their old antennas which my father kept adding on to our antenna until he managed to get a reasonable signal from Channel 8 in Poland Springs Maine. Hard wind storms messed antenna alignment up and cause fatherly expletives which fortunately were not aired. Stuart Hall was the weather man back then and farmers listened attentively to crop reports. TV and weather reports were different back then but news and the family listening together were a big part of rural life in the 50's.

Channel 3 airs a garden report and offers gardeners fresh information each week. Last night there was a piece about growing garden phlox and mention was made of Serenade said to quell powdery mildew and other fungal problems on our favorite garden phlox. I have heard about this product but haven't tried it and cannot offer an opinion. I can speak about phlox because I have finally learned how to grow them better. Knock on wood but my current crop of +25 varieties is fungus free. They are not growing in the shade or against a woodland border. The soil is river alluvial in nature and sandy loam in most places. The land leeches some dampness from the adjacent river but it is never wet on the top and there is never any standing water even after a heavy rain. The slope of the land and the rise and flow of the close by river keeps a fairly steady air flow which keeps the plants dry. Together, these variables keep the area phlox-perfect.

If you chance to stop by Vermont Flower Farm, look down field from the parking area and then towards the river. The phlox are in full bloom now so they are easy to notice. Walk down and then tell me what you think. I think they are special!!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a raven sits in the maple above the compost pile apparently telling friends what I just dumped on top. I doubt they will enjoy banana peals.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Stop by and we'll help you grow your green thumb!
Phlox up top is Spinners

Glorious Daylilies

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

57° here on the mountain. The black clouds of an hour ago have passed and bright sunlight is encouraging me to get to the nursery. So much to do lately I have not been able to keep up with writing. Daylilies probably were best this past weekend as the lack of rain has dried the fields and slowed flower size some. Just the same the colors have been special and we have received nice comments from visitors.

I have been tracking customers for years and arrived at 10% of our customer base as arriving from Maine. This year those visitors are mostly absent but Canadians are coming in larger numbers. They cannot take plants back across the border but they always remember to say thanks for the opportunity to walk the fields. That's always nice!

I'm heading down to the nursery in minutes. Michelle G will arrive in a while to help deadhead daylilies, water, weed--whatever is on the morning agenda. She is a good worker and mellows out in the fields of color listening to music and swatting an occasional bug. I agree that on days that I remember my music, even the tedious jobs like weeding seem to melt into the day.

I just came in from checking the bee hive and there are many new bees but I am still concerned about the prospects for winter survival. If you have missed previous posts, the hive was two days old when the floods of late May completely flooded it over. I brought it back here to the house and have been caring for it since. Bees are incredible creatures and these are apparently growing a bigger population. I sure hope the electric fence surrounding them keeps the black bear out that I saw two mornings ago down past the mailbox.

I have to get going here. If you are out and about today, please stop by for a visit. Gail has some nice hydrangeas coming into bloom and there are some smaller ginkos and witch hazels at good prices. Trees and shrubs are worthy investments for your properties.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where three loons with noisy voices just flew over--en route for the reservoir.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Let us help you grow your green thumb!

Garden Phlox

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A bright, sunny morning here on the mountain. 13° seems a tad cold when I am trying to convince myself that it really is spring but the latest forecasts promise highs of 65 by Monday with lots of rain and melting snows. Today will warm quickly and maple syrup producers around Vermont should be smiling by tonight. At some point today I need to get to Montpelier and purchase another bale of seed planting mix so I can finish up the tomatoes. Some friends laugh at me for waiting so long to plant tomato seeds but I always hope for plants that aren't leggy.

Last night I started work on a web page on the garden phlox that we grow. Over the years we tried and tried to do a good job planting phlox for sale in 1 gallon pots but we were never happy with the outcome no matter how we tempered the potting mix. Last year I think we figured out the cultivation of this plant and in late spring we will plant a number of varieties directly into the garden. By August these should be ready for digging on demand. The new plantings will be an addition to everything Gail and I lined out last fall.

Phlox are a useful garden flower that is regaining in popularity as gardeners learn how to use it better. The native varieties common to New England were probably the ones that typically ended up in farm and home gardens. They were often transplanted from along riverbeds, roadways or wood lines. Their traditional growing areas often showed some amount of shade and their popularity rose from the masses that caught people's attention.

Ask a gardener their sentiment on phlox and do not be surprised to hear "They get mildewy don't they?" This is one of the difficulties with the plant although modern hybridizing is making some headway on the problem. Back in 1999, Dr. Leonard Perry, University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science, released some research on mildew controls for phlox. I remember hearing him speak a couple years after the research and he commented that New Englanders love phlox and dislike mildew but fact is, baking soda didn't provide a bunch more change than modern chemical
controls. I recall him adding that if you continued to use the baking soda, you would create another problem for yourself--soil pH. Over twenty years later I think we are in about the same shape. I don't want to rule out more recently released chemical treatments but safely gardening the way we like to in Vermont looks like it will leave us with some mildew problems on phlox.

During our time trying to learn to make ourselves happy with this plant, we arrived at a couple pointers that may be helpful. Some of these things may work in your gardens too. The first pointer is air circulation. There are a couple conflicts involved with recommendations for planting phlox and they seem to involve good air flow. Gardeners like to see large clumps of well flowered phlox which means that one or more varieties have been growing in close proximity for some time. That means that air flow is impeded and mildew on one clump translates to mildew on the adjacent clump. To mediate this, initially try to plant phlox three feet apart. Some gardeners even say to insure that you have planted other flowers between the phlox so the mildew cannot spread. We aren't that sure about the usefulness of that suggestion although that typically happens anyway by the manner in which we lay out our gardens.

Siting phlox in a shady area is not that good in a place like Vermont where shade is commonly manifested by everyday weather, not just adjacent trees and shrubs. We recommend you bring your plantings out and away from wood lines and anything that will create more shade than you'll see on a cloudy day. At the same time, consider air flow and try to plant where air will get in and around the phlox anytime there is wind in your area. The wood line pointer is probably more important than you think because the roots of trees and shrubs extend into adjacent gardens and interfere with water availability and retention in the phlox. Top watering encourages mildew but allowing phlox roots to go completely dry for periods also stimulates mildew. This is why we recommend morning watering so the plants can be assured of drying off before late afternoon temperature changes.

As we have found, phlox will grow in clay soil but they will not be the glorious plants we wish for. Try a soil that is more friable and has more organic matter and chances are you will be happier too. Since the height range in available plants is 15" to 42", you can experiment with all parts of your garden, front to back, and hopefully find a combination of these variables that will work best in your gardens. Remember air circulation, shade, sun, soil, root competition, and plant spacing and my guess is you will be happier with your phlox. Continue to read about new varieties that express more mildew resistance and spread the word about your success instead of sharing plants that display problems.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl the Wonder Dog does not care about mildew but he does want to go for a walk. Phlox success! Woof! Woof!!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Two reminders: Social Networking Works!©
We'll help you GROW Your GREEN THUMB!©

Garden Phlox

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Already past 10 o'clock this morning and the wind is coming up just as predicted. Last night's 4"-8" turned out to be only 3" but this wind is tossing it into drifts that confuse the totals. I'm still enjoying the 29°, knowing that we'll be below zero again in two days. The wild birds are in a feeding frenzy as if there is a storm approaching I don't know about but they were late in arriving this morning and that may be the cause of their behavior.

One of our favorite plants has always been garden phlox although you would never know it if you visited us. For years we have tried to grow phlox in pots for resale and have failed miserably, so much so that I refused to grow any until I completed a better study. I read what I could find for information and listened to University of Vermont studies on controlling powdery mildew. I attended a couple lectures and asked every grower I met if they had words of wisdom.

During the fall of 2009, we took all our potted phlox and lined them out at the nursery. They were planted at the top of the hill where air circulation was best and where the tall trees along the river provided some shade. The clay soil, although amended before planting, held too much moisture and although the roots grew well, the weeds seemed to grow taller than the phlox.


Purely by accident, "someone" planted some phlox in the lower garden by the river. It turned out to be a "good" mistake. The soil there is what I call sandy river loam but the correct classification is Sunny Silt Loam. The Natural Resources Conservation Service says about these soils:

"Sunny soils formed in loamy over sandy alluvial deposits on flood plains that are frequently flooded for brief duration from Fall through late Spring. They are very deep to bedrock and poorly drained. These soils have a water table at depths of 0 to 1.5 feet below the surface from late Fall through late Spring. Permeability is moderate in the loamy material and rapid in the sandy substratum."

At our location, the area does not flood but runoff from the mountain across Route 2 in early Spring and during heavy summer rains, collects for a day or two. The soil itself within 80-100 feet of the river is heavily stoned and absent of much organic material. Prior to our arrival the land was grown for hay and I heard corn was grown for a short period before it was reseeded with grass and various clovers.

The long and short of the soil story is that the phlox that were planted by mistake did very well. They showed no sign of mildew and their root systems multiplied several times what we had experienced at the top of the hill. We were impressed enough with the outcome to work up a new piece of land and prepare it for more planting this Spring. We have 14 varieties left from last year and are adding another ten varieties for this year. The plants should be ready for sale by late June-early July. They will be field dug based on demand.

If you like phlox, stop by for a visit. In coming months I will be adding a page to our website with pictures and descriptions. I have added pictures of the 14 leftovers on our Facebook Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens page. Phlox such as 'Bright Eyes', pictured below, can brighten your summer garden and add height to you cut flower arrangements.

Note: Blue Paradise pictured up top. Middle picture is an unnamed blue garden phlox from a century old farm in Randloph, Vt--a gift of one of Gail's friends.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where light snow continues and Karl the Wonder Dog says "Time for a walk."

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Trillium On Mothers Day

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mothers Day

A long but successful day at the nursery. The weather was cold and it rained off and on but a fairly steady flow of customers brought on plenty of conversation, some good laughs and some good sales. I was as pleased with the volume of visitors as I was with those who parted with some cash because it was so encouraging to see people find us and also comment on how much they liked the revised website.

I do wish I could get out and take some wildflower pictures. Time is short and when you miss a good display as I did with the bloodroot, it's gone until the following year. The trillium are looking great right now. The grandiflorum are so nice and fresh and they always bring on lots of comments.


Even the assasin bug enjoys them! People often want to purchase a pot or two but they aren't that keen on the price even if I tell them seven years from seed to flower is the norm. Die hards spring for the purchase and I know they'll do a good job of planting and will follow my directions for harvesting seed pods before insects do so as to encourage better production on into the future.


Trillium erectum are in good supply in our gardens as I have worked hard to propagate them too. I need to find someone with good experience with trillium as some of the hybrids are especially tall and strong and I'd like some feedback on these. Last year the deer ate all the seed pods the night before I intended to harvest them so my production cycle was interrupted.

Before I know it Memorial Day will be here and the very popular orchids will be blooming. In the meantime I'll keep plugging away at the nursery. Today it was phlox and tomorrow it will be astilbes. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where supper is about ready and early sleep will be most welcomed.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm A website that shares the plants we grow with those who cannot make the trip. Take a look!

Summer Revisits

Saturday, August 23, 2008

54 degrees here on the hill this morning. It was so very still as I walked Karl the Wonder Dog who tried with great resistance to walk me instead. The animals and birds are lazy from the first consecutive days of heat in Vermont for some time. A doe and fawn walked carefully in the lower field, the doe looking straight at me with eyes that questioned our intrusion into "their" space.
It will be a busy day for many. Some get to start with breakfast.

Late August is a nice time in the gardening world and Gail and I try to explain to people, to coax people, to welcome people to the wonderful world of flowers that can prevail in late August and on into September. There is something very wrong with American advertising and it's all oriented to greed. This is my philosophy on why gardeners are now forced to believe that gardens stop with the last day of July. The other day Alex and I stopped at a store in New Hampshire and barely inside was a mountain of candy. I looked at Alex and queried, "Did I miss a month?" There were literally tons of bags of candy topped with Halloween displays of idiot phantoms dressed in computer generated colors. Before the candy pile dwindles, the Christmas displays will prevail.

Two days ago, two announcers on a television station advised folks to get out and enjoy the day because summer was over and kids had to go back to school. I did enjoy the day but I worked along in the gardens enjoying the various false sunflowers, the ten varieties of sunflowers we grow as cuts, the garden phlox, the helianthus and the soon-to-arrive late summer anemones. There is plenty to see and there's no reason not to have good color in your gardens.

Garden phlox are very popular and now that many have been bred to be more resistant to mildew and other fungus, gardeners are looking for them. Gail and I are disappointed in what has become our last attempt to grow them well in pots. Next year we will offer about 25 varieties, all grown in the ground and ready to dig and sell.


The other great shrub plant to grow is hydrangea. We have three varieties that do very well here and next year we intend to offer a variety of these for sale. They are beautiful in the garden but they also make great cut flowers, and cut and hung upside down for a few weeks, they turn into real assets for the dried flower arranger.


I hear noise in the kitchen as Gail is getting my lunch ready. She has some errands to run today so I will be at the nursery by myself for a while. Mike, a neighbor down the road, will probably stop by with Rusty, his Jack Russell Terrier, for a little rodent control exercise and I expect Eric from Massachusetts will stop by after his morning drive in search of Vermont wildlife. His moose reports have been slim this year and I know we both would like to see a few more and maybe a bear or two. Anyway, have a nice day and spend some time in the garden.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the loons are calling. If you have some time today, drive into Groton State Forest and climb Owls Head. The wild blueberries, diving peregrine falcons, and the view at the top are the reward for a short climb.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm