Phlox drummondii Crème Brûlée seeds - Drummond's phlox

Phlox drummondii 'Crème Brûlée' is a very pretty annual variety, in shades of beige, mocha, peach, and grey-pink. Despite its delicate appearance, its small star-shaped flowers on long branched stems are edged with stripes and veins of varying intensity. Some flowers have a dark eye, while others are marbled and speckled. Drummond's Phlox blooms profusely with a sweet candy scent from midsummer to autumn. It is an excellent choice as a cut flower for bouquets and weddings.

Phlox is the most well-known member of the small botanical family Polemoniaceae, which includes a few other ornamental plants like Cobea, a lovely annual climbing plant. 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.

'Crème Brûlée' is a fast-growing annual plant that forms upright stems reaching around 45 cm, and forming clumps 35 cm wide. It bears lanceolate dark green leaves that create a vegetative mass on which develop panicles of 2 to 3 cm diameter flowers. Comprising five touching petals, these simple flowers have undeniable romantic charm, naturally fitting into cottage gardens. They are also ideal for borders where they will flourish from June to September (or even October by sowing in two successive waves to extend the flowering period). Its joyful mix of hues will create bouquets as visually appealing as they are fragrant. The flowers, attracting bees and butterflies, give way to small dark seeds that are easily sown.
Easy to grow in a pot on a terrace, these generous plants will flower more abundantly in full sun than in partial shade, which they nonetheless tolerate. The soil should be moist, well-drained, rather fertile, regardless of its pH, neutral, chalky, or slightly acidic.

The 'Crème Brûlée' Phlox is valuable for adding colour to borders and for creating beautiful flowering containers before composing splendid fragrant bouquets. To further enhance their nuanced, pastel flowering, provide a contrasting purple background by planting or sowing them in front of a Cotinus coggygria or a Lagerstroemia indica Black Solitaire 'Crimson Red', an almost black-leaved Indian Lilac, or a Physocarpus or a Berberis, two shrubs known for their almost black foliage. The silvery foliage of wormwoods also make beautiful settings. On a terrace, you can create a themed scene by pairing your Phlox in a container or large planter with Paradise Manihi sweet potatoes, with dark bronze foliage, which will also reward you with their succulent tubers at the end of the season.