Phlox cultivar
PLANT OF THE WEEK
Phlox 'Papa razzi Miley'
WHY YOU SHOULD PLANT IT
Do you need brilliant, knock-your-socks-off colour to fill in a gap in your spring border? This phlox cultivar (a cultivated variety) will do just the trick. The colour is so intense that it's almost neon and the blooms bear very close scrutiny.
The graceful mounding form is gloriously fragrant, challenging even hyacinths. The whole plant puts up with a bit of benign neglect.
WHERE TO PLANT IT
This phlox looks somewhat like the moss phlox (Phlox subulata), which is part of its ancestry. It needs sun but will tolerate some drought in normal well-drained soil. It needs watering regularly a couple of times a week until it's established, which is true of all plants that are described as drought-tolerant. It grows to 25 centimetres with a spread of 45 centimetres.
WHAT IT OFFERS
This Zone 6 plant will give you masses of brilliant-pink blooms in late spring. The warmer the weather, the more its fragrance floats on breezes. It's a lovely rock-garden plant and useful as an edger. It's also great in containers near seating areas where you can appreciate both the scent and the look of the exquisite little blooms.
In terms of filler plant, I can't think of a better bumper-upper amid the refined subtlety of a spring border.
SOURCE AND COST
Get it for $16.99 at nurseries such as Fiesta Farms in Toronto.
– Marjorie Harris Visit www.marjorieharris.com for more gardening and plant information.