While Phlox divaricata is not native to Cape Cod, or even Massachusetts, this “native neighbor” is just too beautiful a plant to leave out of our woodland garden. Wild blue phlox, or woodland phlox as it is often called, is found from Hudson Bay all the way down to Texas and Florida. For some reason New England was left out of its range. Like creeping phlox (phlox stolonifera), the plant likes part shade to full shade and rich organic soils. Your woodland garden should be the perfect spot.
Woodland phlox with decidedly blue overtones – May 9 2013
Like creeping phlox, it spreads and forms dense mats over time. The foliage is a lighter green and the stems reach a few inches higher than Phlox stolonifera. Woodland phlox has fertile and infertile shoots. The latter do not produce any flowers and the stems are somewhat shorter and the leaves have rounded tips. The fertile shoots produce flowers that range from pink to blue. The flowering fertile shoots die down after seeds have been produced, but the infertile shoots remain green for the remainder of the growing season. Compared to creeping phlox, the leaves are softer, and more attractive to herbivores. Rabbits in particular may enjoy this phlox offering.
This batch of woodland phlox is showing flowers that are more white than blue – May 9 2013
This plant has many cultivars that are available at most garden stores.
P. stolonifera or P. divaricata?
If you have the room in your woodland garden, plant both. Phlox stolonifera’s color range usually covers the pinks, while Phlox divaricate is definitely more widespread in the blue spectrum. P. stolonifera tends to keep a lower profile while P. divaricate brings a more “bushy” appearance. Both species have flowers with 5 lobes, but P. divaricata’s lobes are much deeper cut.
This creeping phlox is just unveiling its flowers. Unlike wild blue phlox, the foliage remains close to the ground, and the flowers emerge on elevated stems
Notice the pink hues and the flower petals that are not as deeply cut as Phlox divaricata
| Scientific name: | Phlox divaricata |
| Common name: | wild blue phlox |
| Other name: | woodland phlox |
| Bloom time: | mid spring, early summer |
| Color: | blue, violet, lavender |
| Light requirements: | sun to partial shade, light shade |
| Zone: | 3 to 8 |
| Soil: | acidic to neutral |
| Water: | average water needs |
| Origin: | eastern North America, not New England |
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