Bee's Bouquet Hardy Phlox Seeds

What a wonderful bargain -- long-lived, hardy Garden Phlox from seed! A cut-flower lover's dream, this mix takes the best hybrids and combines them all in one super-economical seed packet. No more buying pricey plants or paying for a named variety when all you want is the lovely color! Bee's Bouquet has it all!

Phlox paniculata is a native American perennial containing the nectar that pollinators love, so you can expect a steady parade of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies to visit your plants all season long. Upright and very densely branched, this perennial has the impact of a small shrub. And the blooms are magnificent, with a sweet fragrance many of us associate with our earliest garden memories. Great as cut-flowers, they are also charming in the sunny border. You just can't go wrong with Phlox!

Bee's Bouquet contains the latest hybrids, which is important because the breeding of this perennial has made great strides in recent years. Time was that those of us in humid or rainy climates could enjoy only a short season of Phlox, because powdery mildew was such an enemy of damp foliage. Now, however, mildew-resistant strains keep our plants looking fresh all season.

This mix contains all the classic Phlox colors: pure white, every shade of pink, rose, salmon, magenta, lavender, lilac, and more. The sizes of these plants will vary, but generally speaking you can expect them to reach 2 to 4 feet high and up to 2 feet wide. Bloom time is typically midsummer in all but the warmest climates, and can continue sporadically into fall, with the heaviest flowering occurring early in the season.

The individual flowers on Hardy Garden Phlox are small, but they are very numerous and so closely spaced that they form a dome or canopy of solid color. These plumes reach 6 inches long or wide. Even better, the habit of this plant is branching, so the flowering stems divide and produce several towers of sweetly fragrant lavender-pink on every branch!

Now, let's talk about how to sow and grow this seed. Phlox will not be the easiest plant you ever start from seed, but much of the "difficulty" is really patience, not effort. First, understand that Phlox seeds need a cold period in order to germinate. You can give them this naturally by sowing them outdoors in fall, or you can pop the seed packet into the refrigerator for a month when it arrives.

Once the seeds have chilled, you can either pop them into the Bio Dome or sow them in seed flats. If using the Bio Dome, just make sure that the seed actually drops into the pre-drilled hole in the bio sponge. If using any other method, cover the seed well with seed-starting mix and/or start them in a dark room. The seeds need darkness to germinate, and they will take their time, often not sprouting for 30 days. A temperature in the 40s or 50s is best for germination -- a cool garage or garden shed works well, as long as it doesn't actually approach freezing.

Once you see green sprouts, the hard work (and waiting!) is over. Grow the seedlings on in a cool room, and transplant them when the seedlings have at least 2 sets of true leaves and all danger of spring frost is past.

Like all garden Phlox, Bee's Bouquet is a heavy feeder, so work in lots of organic matter all spring. This plant also likes consistent moisture, so don't let it dry out completely. You are going to love your Hardy Garden Phlox for many years to come! Enjoy this exciting mix. Zones 4-8.

Phlox Germination Information

• Sow indoors at 55-65° in a transplantable medium as the roots resent being disturbed
• Expect germination in 10-15 days
• Seeds can also be sown outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked, in early spring
• Indoor and out, cover the seeds as they need darkness to germinate
• Note: the weakest seedlings often produce the best flower colors
• When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed

An annual grown for spring flower display in beds and borders, as edging, in containers and rock gardens. Flowers cut well for fresh use. The plants are erect from 8-15 inches high and spreading to 12 inches wide. The large flower heads, to 10 inches tall, are composed of 11/2 inch diameter, fragrant flowers. The showy flowers come in colors of pink, red, lavender, and white. The mid-green leaves are hairy and nearly ovate from 1-3 inches long by 1/2-2 inches wide

Superior Germination Through Superior Science

First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.

Superior Standards - University Inspected

Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians

When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.

The Park Seed Gold Standard

Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).

Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.