Phlox Blue Paradise

Phlox are the most popular ornamental plants for flower beds. The most beloved by many phlox paniculata Blue Paradise. It is extraordinarily beautiful, striking with its rich blue color, playfully iridescent from pale blue to dark purple shades. It surprises with large lush domes of inflorescences, has a pleasant delicate aroma and does not require complex maintenance.

History and description of the variety

Phlox Paniculata Blue Paradis is a perennial ornamental herb that belongs to the phlox genus, a paniculate phlox species. Grown all over the world, but its homeland is North America. The history of the variety began in Holland in 1995. It was not bred, the flower was found by the famous breeder P. Udolph. He found this flower in the beds of his friend, who grew cut flowers. There is no patent for this variety.

Phlox Blue Paradis

Blue Paradise is a deep blue phlox. It changes its color depending on the time of day and weather, therefore it is also called a chameleon. During the day, lilac flowers with a lighter center and a lilac-lilac ringlet, in the evening they turn dark blue, while the center of the flower turns blue more strongly, and in the morning and in cloudy weather they are blue-blue with a dark purple ringlet.

Blue Paradis in the evening

The bush is semi-spreading, stable, grows quickly. The height of the bush ranges from 70 to 120 cm, depending on the soil and climatic conditions of cultivation. Stems are dark green, strong. Leaves are opaque, narrow, elongated, with a sharp top. The inflorescence can be round or conical up to 40 cm in diameter, medium density, consists of flowers 3.5-5 cm in diameter with slightly wavy petals. Each flower has five petals. Has a pleasant aroma. Phlox blooms for a long time, up to 45 days, from July to the first frost.

A bush can grow in one place for up to five years, then it is necessary to dig it out, divide the rhizome with a sharp knife into several bushes, simultaneously sorting out the roots, leaving the healthiest ones, and plant them on the prepared beds in a new place. It is better to do this in spring or early autumn.

Characteristics of Blue Paradise paniculata phlox

Phlox paniculata Blue Paradise is ideal for growing in flower gardens. Its blue color brings calm and harmony to any color. Phlox White Admiral (white), Phlox Magic blue (blue), Windsor (deep pink) Phlox Blue Boy (lavender) will become wonderful neighbors in the flowerbed.

Blue Paradise is photophilous, but it is better to choose a place where the sun's rays are scattered in order to preserve the decorative appearance of the leaves and increase the flowering time. A place slightly protected by the crown of a tree is fine. A secluded corner is also needed, since phlox does not tolerate drafts and winds.

The root system is perennial, rather powerful, located in the upper layers of the soil, but, despite this, it is winter-hardy. The green part of the bush dies off after the first frost and needs pruning. The variety is frost-resistant, does not need shelter in winter, is not afraid of spring frosts and begins to build up green mass immediately after the snow melts.

How to preserve seedlings before planting in the ground

Phlox Blue Paradise does not like overheating of the roots, so it is very difficult to grow it in a container. Better not to buy seedlings in advance. If it did not work out in the store to go past the package with the roots, first of all you need to carefully examine the package with the plant before buying.

When choosing a phlox seedling, you should pay attention to some details:

• the filler (peat or sawdust) should be slightly damp;
• the roots are suitable only clean, healthy, not overdried, not rotten;
• there should be no mold spots, slippery areas, signs of disease;
• the root must be dormant without white shoots;
• growth buds must be visible.

If the seedling rhizome is purchased in advance at the end of winter or early spring, the question arises of how to preserve it before planting in the ground. After the purchase, you need to inspect the roots, treat it with a fungicide, put it in a bag, and overlay it with slightly damp peat. Punch holes in the bag and place in the refrigerator, preferably in a vegetable tray. The optimum temperature for storing Blue Paradise phlox seedlings is 1-3 ° C.

If the kidneys are already awake, it is better to put the root in a pot and put it in the refrigerator too. A temperature of 3-5 ° C is suitable. Before planting, the root system can be pinched a little so that the flower grows side roots. If possible, pots with hatched buds can be placed on a glazed loggia. The main thing is that the threat of frost has already passed. The storage temperature must be positive. In May, the already grown plant is planted in the ground.

Phlox roots

Features of planting varieties

In order for the Blue Paradise phlox sapling to take root and delight for a long time with its beauty (it grows in one place for 4-5 years), you need to pay special attention to planting.

Finding a place for phlox

Phlox Blue Paradise loves moist, loose, fertile soil and light partial shade in a cool, draft-free place. Therefore, it is better to plant it near trees or shrubs, but so that the diffused sunlight hits the plant in sufficient quantities. In a too shady area, the inflorescences become pale and loose or stop blooming altogether.

Soil preparation

The flower loves loamy, sandy loam and black earth soil. The place for planting phlox Blue Paradise is prepared in the fall, and for autumn planting, three weeks before disembarkation. In September, they dig up the earth, remove debris and weeds, add humus or compost to the bayonet of a shovel. If the soil is heavy, sand is added to the humus, and if it is acidic, lime (200 g per 1 m²). It is also recommended to immediately lay mineral fertilizers and wood ash.

Planting phlox

A plant is planted in a prepared hole 25-30 cm deep to a depth of 3-5 cm from the root collar to the surface of the earth. The distance between the plants is from 40 to 60 cm. When growing from seeds, sowing begins in the second half of March, after two weeks the first shoots appear, and after three weeks you can proceed to picking.

Watering

When the soil dries up, the leaves of the plant lose their decorative effect, dry out and crumble, the flowering time is reduced. Care must be taken to ensure that the soil always remains slightly moist, but without stagnant water. It is necessary to water at the root, without falling on the leaves and inflorescences in the evening.

Top dressing

For healthy growth and long flowering, it is enough to feed the plant just two times:

• in spring, during plant growth, nitrogen fertilizers are applied for more intensive development;
• in the middle of summer, complex mineral fertilizers are needed (phosphorus will give the plant health, and potassium will enhance flowering) and a solution of urea at the root.

Pruning

Phlox is cut off after flowering to a height of about 10 cm from the ground. Spring pruning is also practiced. Shoots are left for the winter to retain the snow mass. The cut stems are burned, and the bush is treated with fungicides.

Pruning phlox for the winter

Preparing phlox for winter

Phlox Blue Paradise is frost-resistant and does not require much effort in preparation for winter. To increase frost resistance, it is recommended to apply potash fertilizers at the end of August. The cut off bushes are slightly sprinkled with earth or sprinkled with humus. Then they are covered with branches or spruce branches to trap snow. If the snow cover is light, you should throw snow on the flower bed to better protect the plant.

Disease protection

Although phlox Blue Paradise is quite unpretentious, it also needs protection from diseases. One of the most common diseases is powdery mildew. It is easy to recognize it by its white, rapidly growing spots. It is necessary to cut off and destroy diseased leaves, and treat the bush with a fungicide. Bordeaux liquid is a proven way to combat powdery mildew.

Phlox sick with powdery mildew

Among pests, the most dangerous for phlox are nematodes. Microscopic worms living in the stems can kill the flower. To combat them, it is necessary to cut the bush, burn the stems, and treat the soil with nematicides.

Phlox care is simple, and the result in the form of blue fragrant hats will delight you for 1.5-2 summer months from year to year. The main thing is to choose the right planting site and apply suitable fertilizers.