What must be done with Phlox after flowering? 3 points thanks to which you will have a Unique flower garden

Phlox have been growing in my summer cottage for many years. I like these unpretentious and easy-care flowers. However, in order for phlox to endure the winter well, it will take some time and effort to prepare them. In the fall, the flowers need to be fed, cut and mulched around the soil.

If we talk about cutting off wilted inflorescences, then I try to do it regularly as needed. I cut off the faded flowers to the next leaf with axils. The plant then gives rise to new shoots and often continues flowering.

In general, my autumn phlox care consists of three stages:

1. I carry out the processing of plants from diseases and pests

I try to carry out such procedures at the end of September - at the very beginning of October, while the weather is rather warm outside. And, of course, I choose not a rainy day for these events.

For the treatment and prevention of various phlox diseases, I use the drug "Fitosporin-M". With his solution (5 g of powder in a ten-liter bucket of water), I abundantly spray the bushes and spill the soil under them.

If I notice that any pests have "attacked" my phloxes, I treat them with appropriate purchased insecticides or acaricides.

I do not consider it appropriate to use sparing, "grandmother's" means. After all, the flowers are still decorative, I'm not going to eat them.

If it is necessary to carry out both procedures, I perform them at intervals of several days. First - insecticides, then - fungicide.

2. I feed the plants

Approximately 12-15 days after the “treatment”, I feed phloxes with a potassium-phosphorus mixture.

This fertilizer allows:

· To increase the frost resistance of the plant;

· Protect rhizomes in the cold season;

· Give the plant strength to lay new buds.

For my flowers, I prepare a solution consisting of 20 g of superphosphate, 20 g of potassium sulfate and 10 liters of water. This amount is enough for me to water about 1 sq. m landings.

3. Pruning and mulching

I usually prune phlox at the end of October, when the flower bushes are already turning yellow and dry. Above the ground, I leave low hemp of the trunks, about 6-8 cm.

If I was lucky, and in the past season my phloxes were not sick with anything, and there were no pests on them, then I use cut parts of plants as mulch.

In other situations, I mulch phlox with compost. But in any case, I try to cover the remaining plant hemp with a layer of mulch.

And I cover several bushes of tender, selective phlox on top of the mulch with spruce branches for the winter.

As a result of such, in general, not tricky activities in the spring, my phloxes feel great. And the intensity of their flowering even sometimes exceeds my expectations.