Phlox paniculata Twister

Phlox paniculata 'Twister' is the reverse version of the beloved 'Peppermint Twist'. It offers beautiful white flowers delicately striped with candy pink. They are both part of a series of highly performing dwarf cultivars: resistant to heat, humidity, and diseases. They are highly fragrant and their colour does not fade throughout their long-lasting flowering period. This joyful and sparkling variety is ideal in containers or borders, and makes long-lasting bouquets.

Phlox paniculata belongs to the family of Polemoniaceae. It is a robust perennial native to the fertile and damp meadows of the eastern United States. 'Twister' is a perennial herbaceous plant with a woody stump forming a dense clump of leafy stems that reaches 40 cm (16in) in height and 40 cm (16in) in width. Its stiff and sturdy stems are covered with alternate, simple, lanceolate, and ovate leaves, which are bright green and slightly shiny. Flowering begins in early July, at the height of summer, and continues until September, as long as faded inflorescences are removed. The small flowers, 1.5 to 2.5 cm (1in) in diameter, have a tubular corolla in white, streaked with light and vivid pink, creating a very contrasting result. They are clustered at the end of the stems in dense and round panicles, and are pleasantly fragrant. The fragrance is indulgent, evoking vanilla and nutmeg. The flowering is nectariferous. In good growing conditions, Phlox can live for many years in the garden.

This phlox appreciates a sunny position, although it tolerates some shade. Its compact size makes it a good subject for the front of beds, borders, or containers in all gardens, even the smallest ones. In cottage gardens where they are common, as well as in romantic-inspired flowerbeds or cottage gardens, phlox offer a long and generous flowering period. They go well with flowers of different shapes, lighter ones, such as Liatris spicata, Helenium, Asters, and the small purple heads of Allium sphaerocephalon. Pink flowers, echoing the stripes of 'Twister', such as pink-flowered roses or gauras, make lovely companions.