Phlox drummondii Blueberry Swirl seeds - Drummond Phlox

Phlox drummondii 'Blueberry Swirl' is an annual phlox that delights us with its shades of blueberry to pale lavender, slightly touched with red. Its petals speckled in a blueberry hue are tinged with violet-purple, red-violet at the heart fading to light lilac edges. This Grandiflora type variety has been awarded an Approved Novelty by Fleuroselect for its unique colour and qualities as a cut flower. This very floriferous Phlox can be grown in borders or containers for a terrace or balcony, producing pleasantly scented cut flowers that last up to 10 days in a vase. An easy-to-grow annual, to be planted in moist soil and preferably sunny exposure.

Phlox is the best-known member of the small botanical family of Polemoniaceae, which includes other ornamental plants like Cobea, a pretty annual climber. The Phlox genus comprises around sixty annual and perennial species, with evergreen or semi-evergreen leaves, mostly native to North America. Phlox drummondii originates from Texas, where it grows in coastal plains, sparse oak stands, and sandy meadows. It is named after a Scottish naturalist, Thomas Drummond, who discovered it in 1830.

'Blueberry Swirl' is a fast-growing annual plant with erect stems reaching about 50 cm in height, forming clumps about 35 cm wide. It bears lanceolate dark green leaves that create a vegetative mass on which panicles of flowers 2 to 3 cm in diameter develop. Comprising five touching petals, these simple flowers have an undeniable romantic charm, naturally fitting in cottage gardens. They are also perfect for bringing joy to a border where they will bloom from June to September (or even October by sowing in two successive waves to extend the flowering period). Its cheerful variety of hues creates attractive, pleasantly scented bouquets. The flowers, attracting bees and butterflies, give way to small dark seeds that are easily sown.
Easy to grow in a container on a terrace, these generous plants will bloom more abundantly in the sun than in partial shade, which they nonetheless tolerate. The soil should be moist, well-drained, rather fertile, regardless of its pH, neutral, calcareous, or slightly acidic.

'Blueberry Swirl' Phlox are valuable for adding colour to borders and for creating beautiful flowering containers before making splendid scented bouquets. To further enhance their nuanced flowering, give them a purple background as a backdrop by planting or sowing them in front of a Cotinus coggygria or Lagerstroemia indica Black Solitaire 'Crimson Red', an almost black-leaved Crape Myrtle, or even a Physocarpus or Berberis, two shrubs with almost black foliage. The silver foliage of wormwoods also makes beautiful settings. On a terrace, you can create a themed scene by combining in a container or large planter your Phlox with a Paradise Manihi sweet potato, with dark bronze cut foliage, which will also reward you with its succulent tubers at the end of the season.