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Creeping Phlox 'Emerald Blue' (Phlox subulata)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Phlox subulata • Bloom season: Spring • Bloom color: Lavender-blue to pink and white • Pollinator value: Early nectar source for butterflies and bees • Host plant: Phlox moth

An extremely hardy ground cover that stays evergreen through the winter in the fluctuating and arid climate of the Sierras and Great Basin. It gives a bump to a space with a dense evergreen mat of needle-fine foliage that vanishes under lavender-blue flowers in spring, spilling over a wall or a rock edge. Its varied lavender-to-blue, -to-pink, and white blooms have central markings that invite the earliest spring-emerging pollinators. After the first year of care, it is very xeric or drought-tolerant. Here at Vital Bee Buds, it has done well with any level of sun exposure.

Botanical name: Phlox subulata • Bloom season: Spring • Bloom color: Lavender-blue to pink and white • Pollinator value: Early nectar source for butterflies and bees • Host plant: Phlox moth

An extremely hardy ground cover that stays evergreen through the winter in the fluctuating and arid climate of the Sierras and Great Basin. It gives a bump to a space with a dense evergreen mat of needle-fine foliage that vanishes under lavender-blue flowers in spring, spilling over a wall or a rock edge. Its varied lavender-to-blue, -to-pink, and white blooms have central markings that invite the earliest spring-emerging pollinators. After the first year of care, it is very xeric or drought-tolerant. Here at Vital Bee Buds, it has done well with any level of sun exposure.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Phlox subulata

Cultivar: 'Emerald Blue'

Common Name: Creeping Phlox

Native: Cultivar

Native Region: Eastern & Central US (Appalachians; outside western regions)

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Spring

Bloom Color: Lavender-blue into White

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Moths

Host Plant: Phlox moth

Deer Resistant: Browsed by deer

Mature Size: W 18"-24" x H 4"-6"

Soil: Well-drained; lean, gritty soil, needs sharp drainage at the crown

Pollinator Value: Early nectar source for butterflies and bees

Plant Type: Evergreen perennial groundcover

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Spread Habit: Mat-forming

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun with lean, gritty, well-drained soil, and sharp drainage right at the crown in particular. It rots where water sits around the base, so a slope, a wall top, or a gravelly bed suits it far better than flat clay. Space at least 18 inches apart, but give it 2’ - 3’ for maximum spread. Note that deer do browse it, despite its low profile.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Well-drained; lean, gritty soil, needs sharp drainage at the crown

  • Mature size: W 18"-24" x H 4"-6"

Maintenance

Shear the whole mat back by about a third immediately after flowering. This is worth doing every year: it keeps the mat tight and prevents the bare, woody center that makes older plants look moth-eaten. Do not fertilize. Lift and replant rooted sections in spring if the middle has already gone bare.