How to Plant Creeping Phlox
Creeping phlox look stunning wherever you choose to plant them. The phlox will enhance the beauty of a steep bank, the edge of a sidewalk, a rock garden or the ground surrounding a gazebo. The flowering ground cover comes in a variety of colors including red, white, blue, candy cane stripe, light pink and dark pink. They are perennial in zones two to eight and grow from three to eight inches tall.
Things You'll Need:
- Creeping phlox plants
- Shovel
- Compost
- Topsoil
- Mulch
- Go to Lowes, Home Depot or other garden nursery to purchase your creeping phlox. They are widely available. Place the plants in a shady spot and water them thoroughly when you get them home. Watering in the shade is important since full sun will bake the wet leaves. Plant them in the ground as soon as possible.
- Choose a location for your plants that is in full sun. They thrive in full sun if they are not over watered. Creeping phlox prefer moist but not wet soil. If you plant them in the shade, they will become leggy. Choose an area where they will get decent drainage.
- Use a shovel, dig a hole about 12 inches to 14 inches deep, and twice the width of the plant. Take the loose dirt, and mix it with compost and top soil. Place four to six inches of the dirt mixture back in the hole. Plant the phlox in the hole. The top of the plant ball should come to the top of the hole. If it does not, remove the plant and add more soil mixture to the bottom of the hole. When you have the plant adjusted with the top of the ball to the top of the hole, back fill with the soil mixture.
- Cover the plant well and tap the dirt down lightly with your foot. Water the plant lightly so it well-moistened but not standing in water.
- Mulch around the plant well in order to discourage weed growth.