Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricate)
Height: 0.5 to 1 foot
Spread: 0.75 to 1 foot
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Lavender to Blue
Sun: Full Shade to part shade
Attracts: Hummingbirds and Butterflies
Polemoniacae Family
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Clay Soils
Native to Jefferson County
If planted in mass those who are afraid to fly can still sing “Off we go into the wild blue yonder”
The Wild Blue Phlox is a fantastic shade plant that forms mats of foliage. It prefers to grow in wooded environments, stream riparian, and field edges. A great plant to utilize as a cover for spring flowering bulbs as it is very shallow rooted. Wild Blue Phlox spreads slow but steadily by rhizomes. The stems are hairy and bit tacky to the touch.
In mid to late spring Wild Blue phlox burst forward with a profusion of light blue to lavender flowers. Each flower is about 1 1/2 inches wide with five wide notched petal like lobes. The showy flowers attract pollinators making it an excellent addition to a butterfly bee garden.
Bernard McMahon listed it as the 'early flowering phlox' in the 1806 edition of his book, The American Gardener's Calendar. In The American Flower Garden Directory, 1839, nurseryman, florist, and author Robert Buist considered the American genus Phlox to be one of the most handsome in cultivation. Quaker Ridge has a large population of the Wild Blue Phlox in the forested edge along the Cedar Lick riparian.
Its flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and a host of native bees—particularly bumblebees. It serves as a host plant for swallowtail and hairstreaks. The foliage is a favorite food of rabbits, but they usually do not eat in excess to the point of damaging the plant. ■
