Today’s featured plant is Phlox paniculata Franz Schubert, one of the select varieties from Blooms of Bressingham. This one named by Allan Bloom after his favourite composer.
A country garden favourite which attracts the butterflies and bees. Over the years I have found that this particular Phlox performs better and outshines the rest.
The sweetly scented lilac flowers are borne on stems 3ft tall, a long flowering period from late July till late September makes this one a favourite with many gardeners. Another bonus with Franz Schubert is its resistance to powdery mildew which affects many of the perennial Phlox.
Keep well watered in Summer and mulch with well rotted garden compost or manure in Spring.
After several years in the same position your Phlox will benefit greatly by lifting and dividing. It couldn’t be simpler. Simply, in Spring dig up the plant and then very firmly with the spade, slice the plant into three or four sections. Replant, one in the original position and the other two or three wherever it takes your fancy. see the results in Summer.
Position – Full sun/Part shade
Height – 90cm/3ft
Mail Order
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At the top of my Homepage I have a link (Aberdeen Gallery) This is where I have placed pictures of Aberdeen landmarks. Well not exactly, at the moment the pictures are those taken by flicker members. Now that I have a decent camera I will build up my own catalogue of photos and remove the flicker ones. Here is a few which I took recently.
Aberdeen Town House
Built between 1867 and 1873 a very prominent granite building designed by the architects Peddie and Kinnear.
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Marischal College
Aberdeens Marischal College was founded in 1593 the current grand building was erected between 1836 and 1906. Part of the building was designed by the great architect Archibald Simpson. It was extended between 1895 and 1906 designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and is the second largest granite building in the world, the largest being The Escorial Palace, outside Madrid.
The building at the moment is under major refurbishment and is to be the new headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. This has caused much controversy at a time of serious cutbacks. The original cost of the refurbishment was to be 80 million pounds, quite a furore erupted and they managed to get the cost down to 65 million.
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The Citadel
Salvation Army Citadel built to the design of the Architect James Soutter in 1896.
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The granite building above was designed by Archibald Simpson in 1842 an housed the North of Scotland Bank. It is now a pub! Archibald Simpson was the most prominent architect in Aberdeen and completed a number of very fine buildings. Whilst other city’s in Scotland built with sandstone may show there age, Aberdeen was built with granite from the city’s famous Rubislaw quarry, resulting in the city sparkling when the sun shines.
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Bridge of Dee
Aberdeens Bridge of Dee, built between 1520/1527. The bridge was built following a bequest of £20.000 by Bishop William Elphinstone who died in 1514 before work actually commenced. Bishop Gavin Dunbar completed the work under the cerical master of works Maister Alexander Galloway. The bridge was widened in 1840 on the west side with most of the original facings being replaced.
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© 2011, Alistair. All rights reserved.
Do you ever pinch the tops of you phlox to make them bushier? I pinched some spindly phlox just the other day. Mine are just the magenta species phlox, but they’re still attractive to butterflies.
Nell Jean recently posted..How Nature Plants a Butterfly Garden
Nell Jean, No I haven’t done this with phlox, I normally only do this with annuals. I will definitely give it a try next year.
I really admire the architecture in your town, so much history and character.
Donna recently posted..Buzz on Bees – May Magazine Pgs 18 to 23
Thanks Donna, we often take for granted what is on our own doorstep. We have a public garden in the city west end which I hadn’t visited for twenty years, I was gob smacked by the beauty of it last week. A while back Aberdeen won the Britain in bloom for nine consecutive years and was banned to give another city a chance. This garden which I will soon show on my blog played a big part in Aberdeen’s success.
Hi Alistair… I was wondering when you would post again… I’ve enjoyed seeing the architecture from your piece of the world. I have had Franz Schubert in the past and it is indeed a lovely phlox. We are in the midst of spring peak and have conducted a number of garden tours this week. Several more in the next couple weeks plus a large garden party for my sister-in-law’s 70th birthday in a week… there should be a huge amount of bloom for that. Blogger had some problems and I’m missing my last two posts so will try to get a large post done this morning. It’s rainy today and I’ve overdone with my shoulder so need to avoid heavy work for a couple days. There is always so much work to be done! My best to you and your wife… Larry
Larry recently posted..The season of magnolias has begun
Thanks Larry, I just post once per week now, on a Saturday. I take it these are tours of your own garden. It was my older brothers 70th birthday on 8th May. He is of with his friends on a motorcycle tour to Portugal. He is one of those guys with eternal youth syndrome. Enjoy the garden party, and take it easy with that shoulder.
Alistair, I love garden phlox and would like to have a whole field of all the different colors. By collecting various cultivars, I manage to have it in bloom from mid-June to mid-October. ‘Blue Paradise’ is my really early variety. In my garden, only garden phlox (P. paniculata) gets mildew. Also I cut back garden phlox by half in mid-June (if not in bloom) to make bushier plants for its main season of August and September. Love the photos of Aberdeen. We really want to visit Scotland some day and they make me long to come there even more. Carolyn
Carolyn @ Carolyn’s Shade Gardens recently posted..Miniature & Small Hostas
Carolyn, Nell Jean also makes reference to cutting back phlox, I will be sure to try this, in fact I will do it this year.
Pretty Phlox – do you find you need to stake it? I was wanting to buy one at Malvern, but only found the creeping sort, and then had to stop looking because I’d blown the budget…
Love the Bridge of Dee – and that is a great photo of it. You are good ambassador for your city!
Janet/Plantaliscious recently posted..Malvern – the show gardens
Hi Janet, this one seems to do pretty well without the need for staking.
I love the photos of your town! What a beautiful place with magnificent architecture. Love the history of your sparkling city.
Holley recently posted..Green- Just Green
Thanks Holley, it is a lovely place.
I love garden phlox also and have several varieties. I just added Franz Schubert last fall so I am pleased to hear of your success and good points on this one.
Hope it does as well with you Lona.
These are very nice blooms. Not sure I can grow them. I worry that they will wither in our heat.
Thanks for showing us some sights of Aberdeen.
Bom recently posted..How I Found CS Gardner
Bom, I think they may well wilt in high temperatures.
Hi Alistair – used to grow Phlox and seeing these reminds me how much I miss their scent. The tendency to mildew made me discard all thoughts of growing them again so this variety gives new interest. Probably did not water enough, divide clumps and do the Chelsea chop.
Would love to stand and stare on that bridge.
Laura
Laura @ PatioPatch recently posted..Bags-I a Black Poplar
Hi Laura, The Chelsea chop, I like that
Alistair, Edinburgh always gets the spotlight as the historical city of Scotland. I’ve never seen photos of Aberdeen. Great to have your local pub in such a magnificent building.
b-a-g recently posted..Foxgloves 15 MAY 2011
I will have to check it out further b-a-g, but I am sure the local pub is one of those night club sort of places for young folk like yourself. Aberdeen centre is saturated with these now and apparently at 2am resembles Benidorm.
Dear Alistair, One of my first flower-loves was phlox. I have one called ‘Bright Eyes’ which is very reliable and resists mildew. Love yours. Thanks for the tour of Aberdeen. Pamela
Pam’s English Garden recently posted..Crabapple Blossoms On May Garden Bloggers Bloom Day
Hi Pam, I am sure we have had Bright Eyes in the past.
I loved looking at these pictures of Aberdeen! Thank you so much – traveling on the couch is the only kind of travel I can afford these days, and I enjoyed this trip
.
Your phlox looks wonderful. We used to grow it in Russia, and I remember it well and miss it. It doesn’t like it here, unfortunately…
Masha recently posted..A Gallery of Gallicas
Just as well we have the garden Masha, otherwise I may well be a real couch potato.
I just love phlox and this is a definite favorite. I am glad you reminded us to divide our flowers. So easy and so worth it to spread the flowers around the garden. Your pictures of your town buildings are wonderful…such beautiful buildings…I especially love the bridge…
Donna recently posted..Judgement
Yes Donna, bridges and architecture remain beautiful in spite of the years, pity its not the same for us humans.
Fabulous architecture you have there in Aberdeen Alistair! Embarrasingly enough neither of us have ever been to Scotland, must make an effort….
Mark and Gaz recently posted..Azaleas at Kew Gardens
Mark and Gaz, well to be quite honest we are not exactly well travelled, off to Cheshire in a few weeks though.
Mildew made me give up trying to grow this perennial but I must keep an eye out for this variety as I made a descision last August after seeing so many beautiful phlox blooms on blogs that I should try again.
I always love the granite of Aberdeen and it’s a city I’ve been to…………… 3 times ………. isn’t that awful! I would love to explore that area alot more rather than just exploring the shops and ending up with the kids at Cadona’s – alot of folk don’t realise that it even has a nice beach.
Rosie@leavesnbloom recently posted..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- May
Hi Rosie, we are not exactly very well travelled. I suppose when people think of Aberdeen, the first thoughts are, (cold!) But here on the coast, the Winter is in fact milder than a lot of areas in Scotland. As for Summer, we have our moments, although if you travel 15 miles inland to Banchory it is most often warmer.
What a great site you have here,some incredible photographs.It’s a good idea to place a mulch of well rotted garden compost around 2″ deep around the Phlox duringMarch,April time.This will ensure a nice flowering around July.
Thanks again for a great site,keep up the excellent work Alistair.
Gardener Aberdeen recently posted..For all your gardening requirements in the Aberdeen area
Mulch in March is a good idea Gardener, welcome to my site.
Hi Alistair,
I am a huge fan of phlox and am always adding to my collection. Most of my phlox plants have to put up with half shade to full shade and so they are a bit slow to clump up. I think there must be at least one Franz Schubert in my garden. The town shots are terrific. Such grand architecture!
Jennifer@threedogsinagarden recently posted..The Toad Prince and the Fountain- A Cautionary DYI Tale
Jennifer, I have found that Phlox seems to perform quite well in partial shade.
hello Alisair, enjoyed the photos, we spent a day in Aberdeen waiting for the boat to the Shetland Isles, amazingly it was raining!
The phlox is so reliable and do consider the ‘Chelsea Chop’ cutting down the plants or some of the plant to a half which makes it sturdier and makes it flower at delayed times which gives a longer flowering season. Well worth doing.
Mike, surely it wasn’t raining. Yes I have cut them back, I have some recollection of doing this years ago, seemed to have slipped my mind in recent years, well well, I wonder why.