Colorful Carpet, Courtesy of Creeping Phlox

When you think of Phlox, is it Tall Garden Phlox that comes to mind, or is it the close-to-the-ground flowering mat of Phlox subulata that spreads across garden beds and drapes over rocks? 

Tall Garden Phlox surely is beautiful, with plump clusters of flowers in white, pink, purple… a nice variety of colors. Garden Phlox stands up straight and proud and explodes with color at the top of its stems, almost in scoop-of-ice-cream form. If this is what first comes to mind for you, then you are lucky. Those who utilize this plant invariably have gardens with old-fashioned charm. But equally impressive is the low-growing Phlox subulata, or Creeping Phlox, which has its miniature star-like blooms scattered everywhere along the ground in a colorful and cushy carpet.

Perhaps there is no better way to fall in love with Phlox than to plant both types somewhat near each other. They will show their colors at different times in summer, but both do just that… show their colors. Still, I must say that, for me, Creeping Phlox is absolutely indispensable in the garden.  

When Creeping Phlox is in bloom, it reminds me of confetti that has been tossed in joy and remains on the ground as a reminder of a special celebration. The tiny flowers of Phlox subulata grow extremely close together. Even from a distance, the look of the flower mat they create is full, yet lacy and able to ripple in the wind.

Lessons Learned About Creeping Phlox

While Creeping Phlox (also known as Moss Phlox) is an easy-to-grow ground cover, things can go wrong with it, as is the case with any other plant. I have seen that with my own eyes, in my own garden. But with these things being easily avoidable, I offer up a bit of a cautionary tale:

When I moved into my home, I inherited one garden bed that was covered in Creeping Phlox plus taller plants behind it. This bed served as the welcoming garden that visitors would see first, upon entering the driveway. This garden bed could also be viewed from the street. Considering this, it seemed to need lots of color that could be captured quickly by the eyes of car passengers breezing by with only enough time to get a quick sense of color and flower form at the side of the road. And in the first few years I was in my home, Phlox subulata was the best provider of this color in May and June. Then, I got fancy.

I began to think that the low-growing color carpet provided by Phlox subulata could be made even more visible with the addition of a few taller plants “sprinkled in”. These taller plants would fall into service, too, once the Creeping Phlox had shed its last blooms, and its subdued gray-green mat was left to cover the earth at the front of this bed. So I went about sprinkling in the taller plants, just a few. 

Phlox subulata has low-lying woody stems and greenery as the base on which its flowers form, so considering the thickness of the mat, I had to carefully cut in a few holes and dig down to situate three or four taller plants. The plants went in and were okay. They were visible from the street, as I had expected they would be. But my disturbance of the mat of Phlox subulata—the holes I had made in a beautiful carpet—allowed weeds to get in. My Creeping Phlox mat which had always stayed tidy all spring and summer became infiltrated by small weeds, difficult to pull and keep out. I had turned a happy inheritance, my Phlox subulata, into a headache.

Now, I imagine very few people would cut into a ground cover mat to position taller plants within it. Perhaps this mistake would be mine alone. But I had also made another more common mistake along the way: Phlox subulata appreciates fertilizer before and after bloom time, but because my Creeping Phlox looked so healthy during my first years in my home, I thought I would leave well enough alone and not fertilize it. Big mistake.

Another mistake: Phlox subulata likes to be deadheaded by way of an overall shearing after bloom time. But I thought I knew better. I liked the slightly puffy gray-green mat that remained in July and August, so I did no shearing whatsoever. Then, at the end of the growing season, I failed to really shear the Phlox subulata significantly. All of this resulted in plants that aged before their time. My once-thriving Creeping Phlox got mildewed foliage; its greenery got sparse while its woody stems became unmanageable. I had created the problems.

Points to Keep in Mind

I am left with a love of Phlox subulata, which I have since replanted. That says something, doesn’t it? Even with the trouble I had created for myself in the past with this plant, it falls near the top of my list of plants I love and cannot be without. I simply remind myself, and caution others who will love this easy ground cover plant, to be mindful of the following:

• Keep this matting plant’s “mat” intact. Do not disturb the intricate carpet the plant has created, as I did with my Creeping Phlox.
• Follow care instructions. Do not assume that plants that are thriving are best left to fare for themselves. If they like fertilizer, fertilize them. If they need trimming, trim.
• Enjoy each plant for what it is. If a ground cover is covering planes of earth with flowers, keep that area as a low-lying focal point. Do not make every part of your garden bed do double or triple duty. I had a lush and colorful base being provided by Phlox subulata. Why I then desired height in that area is beyond me.
• Understand that new plant stock is needed from time to time, and that is okay. To make myself feel a little better about my mistakes with this lovely plant, I will say that my Creeping Phlox had been part of the garden I inherited for years before I ever saw it. It may have needed some replenishing.
• Plant the different colors of Creeping Phlox in fairly large patches for real impact. You might have an area of white that leads to blue. Blue may lead to pink. But each area should, in my opinion, be fairly expansive.

Phlox subulata is easy to grow. My cautionary tale, with sad twists and evident mistakes, does not indicate that most gardeners would have any issue with this ground cover. Fact is, this plant is so "easy going", I believe gardeners will have incredible success with it, in return for minimal maintenance. This tale simply details a few mistakes I made, by chance, with this particular plant. Other gardeners may have made similar mistakes with different plants. We all make them. And we can learn from them.