How to Winterize Phlox

Overview

Garden phlox is a showy landscape flower with large flowers that decorate a flowerbed during the second half of the summer. Grow garden phlox in a sunny location as a border or a backdrop to shorter flowers. Phlox prefers a moist garden soil and needs adequate ventilation around the foliage to prevent mildew from developing over the course of the growing season. After the foliage dies back in the autumn, cut it off near the soil level to winterize.

Step 1

Remove spent flowers of the garden phlox to encourage a longer blooming period.

Step 2

Trim the plant back to remove all old foliage in the autumn. This will help prevent mold and decay from penetrating the foliage over the winter season. Leave approximately 6 inches of stalks above the soil level for locating the phlox the next spring.

Step 3

Thin the garden phlox in the spring to allow only four stalks per clump. If you desire a larger area of garden phlox, add additional plants, spacing them approximately 1 foot apart.