Phlox Filins, Eli Start, Flame and other curiosities

Long gone are the days when phloxes were said to be white, pink and blue. There are a large number of varieties, the choice is huge. In the color catalog issued by the phlox section of the ROO Club "Flower growers of Moscow" in 2014, more than 900 varieties are described. This is the most complete description of phlox varieties and seedlings available today.

The group of bush phlox blooming in summer includes paniculate phlox (Phloxpaniculata), spotted phlox (Phloxmaculata), broadleaf phlox (Phloxamplifolia). The main representatives are paniculata phlox and spotted phlox. These phloxes differ, first of all, in the shape of the inflorescences and the size of the flowers. Phlox paniculate has a branched inflorescence of various configurations, the size of the flower varies from 1.5 to 6 cm; spotted phlox has a small flower size (2-3 cm), and the inflorescence is cylindrical.

Spotted phlox (Phloxmaculata)

There are not so many varieties of phlox spotted in our collections: Alpha, Delta, Magnificence, Omega, Rosalinde, Sonata (Natasha), Schneelawine, in our gardens this variety known as Schneepyramide. It blooms one of the first among bush phlox, its stems are covered with small dark specks (hence the name spotted). Phlox has a very pleasant aroma, perhaps the strongest of all varieties.

A great contribution to the assortment of spotted phlox was made by the German breeder Georg Arends (G. Arends, 1863-1952).The most beautiful varieties - Alpha, Rosalinda, Schneelavine - were bred by him in his nursery in the vicinity of the town of Wuppertal (North Rhine-Westphalia). The nursery exists to this day, and bears the name of Arends.

Phlox Arends(Phlox × arendsii)

In the 1920s, Arends introduced a new group of phloxes, which were called “Arends phlox”, hybrids of the splayed phlox (Phloxdivaricata) and paniculata phlox (Phloxpaniculata)... Split phlox is a transitional form from carpet phlox of spring flowering to bush phlox of summer-autumn flowering. By the strength of development, Arends's phlox were inferior to paniculata phlox, but they bloomed almost a month earlier, in June, flowering lasted up to 60 days. About 10 varieties were bred, all of them bore female names: Greta, Ganna, Charlotte, Suzanne, etc. It is likely that such an artificial formation turned out to be not viable, and gradually these varieties disappeared from our collections. Phlox Arends of modern selection, represented mainly by Dutch breeders (Baby Face, All In One, Ping Pong, Luc's Lilac) bloom at almost the same time as paniculate phlox.

Phlox hybrid series Eli Start (PhloxxhybridaEarly Start)

The idea of breeding varieties of phlox paniculata with an early flowering period has been continued in our days. Not so long ago, new phloxes of the Eli Start series appeared - they are probably also interspecific hybrids. The author of the novelty is the Dutch breeder G.B.H. Bartels. Phloxes of this series are distinguished by very early and long flowering, which begins in June and ends in late August - early September. Phloxes of this series are low (35-45 cm), which allows them to be used as border plants. Bushes are branched, well leafy, in some varieties the width of the bush is greater than the height, the flowers are small (2.5-3 cm), but there are a lot of them.

There are still not enough varieties: Eli Velvet (Early Velvet) - crimson, Eli Dak Pink (Early Dark Pink) - dark pink, Eli Light Pink (Early Light Pink) - light pink, Eli Pöple (Early Purple) - purple with a white center , Eli Pink (Early Pink) - soft pink, Eli Pink Duck Ay (Early Pink Dark Eye) - pink, Eli Hot Pink (Early Hot Pink) - coral, Eli White (Early White) - pure white.

Phlox panicled Flame series (PhloxpaniculataFlame)

The same Dutch breeder is the author of another phlox series called Flame. Phloxes of this series, as a rule, are not tall, (50-60 cm), bloom at the usual time for paniculate varieties.Flowering is long and plentiful, the color of the varieties is varied: white, blue, pink of various shades, red, purple. The flowers are larger than those of the Eli Start series phlox, mainly 3-4 cm. These are the varieties: Blue Flame, Violet Flame, Coral Flame, Light Blue Flame, Light Pink Flame, Lilac Flame, Pink Eye Flame, Pink Flame, Purple Flame, Red Flame, White Eye Flame ( White Eye Flame, White Flame.

Phlox paniculata variegated (PhloxpaniculataVariegata)

It has always been believed that phloxes are beautiful due to the beauty of the flowers and the splendor of the inflorescences. But completely different varieties appeared, which showed that beauty can also lie in the unusual coloring of the foliage: the leaves of the phlox of these varieties are not just green, but have a contrasting cream or golden border of various sizes. Their flowers are not very large (mostly 3 cm) and not as varied in color as in ordinary paniculate phlox.

Phloxes Nora Leigh, Darwin's Joyce, Creme de Menthe, Frosted Elegance have leaves with a cream border, white flowers with a bright center, large inflorescences.

There is a whole series of phloxes with beautiful names, in which there is the word "mine" (source), or mines (mine, mine, mine) - Gold, Silver, Ruby Mines. Phlox Goldmine is bright and attractive with golden-green decorative foliage and bright purple-crimson flowers. Giltmine looks like him. The flowers are the same bright, and the leaves are framed only along the very edge with a thin golden border. Phlox Rubymine has everything unusual - both foliage and flowers. The foliage is bluish-greenish with a creamy edging, which turns slightly pink in spring and autumn, the flowers are pinkish with a darker ruby eye. There is also Silvermine - the foliage is golden-green, the flowers are white.

The rules for caring for varieties with variegated foliage are the same as for ordinary phlox, but they are prone to spotting, so they are definitely neededpreventive measures. Stems with green leaves, which sometimes appear in the bush, should be removed immediately.

Phlox paniculata impressive(PhloxpaniculataFeelings).

There are varieties that do not have flowers in our usual sense. This is phlox panicled eagle owl or a paniculate eagle owl (Paniculata Feelings). You can translate this name as phlox paniculata impressive, sometimes they are called terry phlox, but most often eagle owls. The Dutchman Rene Van Gaalen is considered the originator of the owls.

Long before the appearance of foreign varieties, the first eagle owl named Devil was shown at our phlox exhibition in 1993. The author of this unusual greenish-brown phlox is Mikhail Nikolaevich Krutov, a member of the Moscow Florists club, a well-known breeder and florist. But, as you know, there is no prophet in his homeland, and this phlox was not appreciated at its true worth. And now we are buying Dutch varieties.

In appearance, owls can be divided into two groups. In some, the inflorescences are formed by colored needle-like bracts (Empty Feelings, Midnight Feelings, Pleasant Feelings), in others - pink-like buds of modified petals (Fancy Feelings, Natural Feelings, Red Feelings, Pure Feelings). The characteristic main feature of eagle owls is large inflorescences and a long flowering period (up to 10-12 weeks). Empty Owls (Empty Feelings) have a golden brown inflorescence, Midnight Feelings have dark brown, Pleasant Feelings have light green. The needle-like bracts are so small that the inflorescences appear fluffy. Fancy Feelings' bright pink sterile flowers have narrow, elongated petals. The inflorescence is very dense. The color and structure of the inflorescence of Natural Feelings is peculiar - white-pink-green slightly twisted "petals" look like half-open buds, which are collected in large dense brushes, so the top of the phlox resembles a plume. The red flowers of Red Feelings also consist of modified narrow petals.

Both variegated phlox and eagle owl bloom in July, like ordinary paniculate phlox.

Broadleaf phlox (Phloxamplifolia)

In addition to paniculate and spotted phlox, there are also varieties of broadleaf phlox in our collections. It should differ from the paniculate in larger leaves, but, to be honest, I did not see this. But tall, powerful bushes with strong stems are visible. Phlox grow and multiply well, have good health - in general, not phlox, but just a dream come true.We have only two varieties known so far - white David and lilac with a white center David's Lavender. I wanted to have more varieties, maybe created on the basis of the existing ones.

Original phlox

In conclusion, a few words about not quite ordinary phlox, which, of course, by all indications refer to paniculata phlox, but their flowers are not the same as everyone else's.

Handsome man Boutonik first conquered the Northern capital, and then Moscow. The buds are lilac, large, not opening even in extreme heat. Winters well, reproduces normally. Phlox was introduced by L.F. Golubitskaya in 1993, for which she bows low and thanks from all the lovers and admirers of phlox.

Dutch breeder J. Verschoor (Vershhur) tried to do something similar in white, and a variety appeared Tiara(Tiara). But the "child" turned out not very successful, from my point of view. When white small flowers fade, some kind of sloppiness appears in the inflorescence.

I liked the lavender blue much more. Fliderenzian (Fliederenzian), due to the fact that the petals are bent back, the inflorescence looks rather unusual.