Wild Blue Phlox - Phlox divaricata

Perfect for shade gardens or shade ground cover, Phlox divaricata, or Wild Blue Phlox, is a mounding, evergreen, low-growing plant with striking bluish flowers.  It is well adapted to moist deciduous forests and will tolerate acidic soils.  Will self-sow and also spread slowly through rhizomes, creating dramatic drifts of spring color. My favorite bit is that this plant smells like lilacs! I love it in the spring in the greenhouse. So do the hummingbirds. They will fly right through the greenhouse door to get to these flowers.
 
Wild Blue Phlox is a perennial wildflower native to Michigan and the southern UP.  Plant reaches 1 foot tall and flowers in early spring with a blue blossom.  It accepts partial sun to full shade, and prefers humus-rich soil with adequate moisture - medium-wet to medium-dry clay or loam.  
 
As a spring-blooming plant, Wild Blue Phlox is important to early-rising native solitary bees, and is used as a host plant by at least 8 moths and butterflies.  It pairs perfectly with Wild Columbine and Roundleaf Ragwort - the bloom times are similar and the reds and yellows make a striking accent to the shorter Phlox.  Wild Blue Phlox is supposedly deer resistant, but our deer have not gotten the memo.
 
We are excited to be able to offer this colorful spring plant!