Illustration
Garden Phlox
Phlox paniculata
Garden Phlox blooms from July through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Garden Phlox
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 2 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Garden Phlox. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Garden Phlox
Plant Garden Phlox in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from July to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Garden Phlox get?
3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult2 ftwideSee Garden Phlox in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Garden Phlox
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Garden Phlox about 2 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Garden Phlox to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Garden Phlox's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 15 published sources on October 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionPhlox paniculataheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- kollarnursery.comKollar Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- University of Illinois Extensionheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachheight, sun, water and bloom months and color
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata, the plain speciesheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata 'Barten' LILAC FLAMEheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata 'Barfourteen' PURPLE FLAMEheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata 'Balsukafus' SUPER KA-POW FUCHSIAheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata 'Barthirtysix' VOLCANO REDheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenPhlox paniculata 'Balkapowibi' KA-POW WHITE BICOLORheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun, water and bloom months and color
- Native Plant Trust (Go Botany)Go Botany, Native Plant Trust (Phlox paniculata)height, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardensun and bloom months and color
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterPhlox paniculataheight and sun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 34 states
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and 22 more
Recorded growing wild in 643 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Comes in 15 varieties across 5 colors
Same genus, similar care - pick the color you are growing.
Across the group, bloom runs from June through September: Opening Act White opens first (June) and Blue Paradise is the last to finish (September).
- Blue Paradise
- Bright Eyes
- Bubblegum Pink
- Coral Flame
- David
- Jeana
- Laura
- Luminary Ultraviolet
- Nicky
- Opening Act White
- Orange Perfection
- Purple
- Robert Poore
- Starfire
- White Flame
Compare every variety in the Garden Phlox group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Paradise | Blue | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Bright Eyes | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3 ft × 2 ft |
| Bubblegum Pink | Pink | Jul–Aug | Zones 3–8 | Full sun | 2.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Coral Flame | Pink | Jul | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 20 in × 20 in |
| David | White | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Gardenthis page | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Jeana | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 4 ft × 2 ft |
| Laura | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3 ft × 2 ft |
| Luminary Ultraviolet | Purple | Jul–Aug | Zones 3–8 | Full sun | 2.5 ft × 2.5 ft |
| Nicky | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Opening Act White | White | Jun–Jul | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 20 in × 20 in |
| Orange Perfection | Orange | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3 ft × 2 ft |
| Purple | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3.5 ft × 2 ft |
| Robert Poore | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 4 ft × 2.5 ft |
| Starfire | Red | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 3 ft × 2 ft |
| White Flame | White | Jul–Sep | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 20 in × 20 in |
Good to know about Garden Phlox
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
Water is not the way to fight powdery mildew: free water on the leaf actually kills the spores. The fixes are about light and air: full sun, spacing, airflow. per UC ANR
When it stops blooming
Sources split on the end date. The natural flush is July to August; reaching September depends on regular deadheading and summer heat that stays moderate. per North Carolina Extension and Penn State
Resistant cultivars matter most
Cultivar choice is the biggest lever against powdery mildew. 'David' (white), 'Jeana' (lavender-pink) and 'Robert Poore' (rosy-red) are the widely recommended mildew-resistant selections. per Clemson and Mt. Cuba
Seedlings revert to magenta
Left to set seed, named phlox reverts: the seedlings come up a washy pale magenta and can crowd out and swamp your chosen cultivar. Deadhead to prevent it. per University of Minnesota and Penn State
A butterfly magnet
A strong butterfly and hummingbird plant. In a Mt. Cuba trial, 'Jeana' drew far more butterflies than any other cultivar, at 539 recorded visits over two years. per North Carolina Extension and Mt. Cuba
Not deer-resistant
Unlike low creeping phlox, garden phlox is not deer-resistant, and cottontail rabbits will browse it. Site it where deer and rabbit pressure is low. per North Carolina Extension
What pairs well with Garden Phlox
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Chick Charms Cosmic Candy Hens & Chicks
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; low at 4 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Sea Thrift
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Decadence Vanilla Cream False Indigo
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Inkberry Holly
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Kinnikinnick
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Prairie Junegrass
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Thyme
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; opens in late spring and overlaps into this one's season; low at 6 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both are strong pollinator plants.
Ever After Ruby Reblooming Azalea
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
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