cons?

kinda boring when it's not in bloom.

won't stand up to a game of dodgeball at all well.

works best with some kind of structure under it- rocks, stone wall, what have you.

and it's fairly common

pro's?

nice consistent springy green ground cover with a carpet of blooms for about three weeks.

hides uneven ground, trails nicely in terraced walls.

fairly stubborn once established.

roots and spreads without too much human intervention.

I've got a few nice patches of white creeping phlox, and what is turning into a rapidly-growing clump of lavander 'woodland' phlox that I think I prefer.

however, the 'woodland' was a present, I've never seen it in a nursery, so I don't know where to recomment finding it.

Phlox subulata is deer food here.
Just incase you have deer problems.

I like phlox, especially the 'Emerald Blue'- the foliage is better through the winter. The foliage is a brighter green than the others. Yes, it is overused- because it's easy, tough and available.

I cut mine back after bloom some years, cutting back hard when they get a bit too big. Over time the center may get ratty- just divide the plant and pitch the center.

Nurseries here in VA are starting to carry the woodland phlox.

Check out Phlox stolonifera and 'the woodland phlox' Phlox divaricata. There are also some groundcover hybrids of these and other species. None will withstand a lot of traffic. Some of the nicest stands of the phlox you were considering are totally neglected, parched and in the blazing sun of local graveyards. Almost universally the original magenta.

Hi Cedgo,

How much sun do you have? The woodland phlox's prefer more shade. P. divaricata 'May Breeze' is incredibly fragrant--it's wonderful. I think all the divaricata's are fragrant in varying degrees. P. stolonifera won't like full sun at all and can tolerate deep shade.

The regular Creeping phlox's, P. subulata, will love full sun. If you decide to go this way, see if you can find a couple P. douglasii 'Cracker Jack'. It has bright, bright hot pink flowers. If you want something showy, this is the one. There are several varieties of Phlox douglasii around these days and they are much more compact and dense than P.s., and they don't get nearly as ratty looking as P.s. can after a few years. They do spread more slowly, especially the first year or so, but I highly recommend them for appearance. With either subulata or douglasii I'd recommend shearing them off after they bloom to neaten them up and promote dense new growth.

Happy groundcovering,
Skybird