Many garden lovers and hobby gardeners not only want to stock their garden with “finished” flowers and perennials, but would rather sow and grow their plants themselves. This is very easy to do with Phlox and in a wide variety of colors.
How to sow phlox seeds?
Phlox seeds can be purchased or collected yourself, although self-collected seeds are not true to the variety. Phlox is a cold germinator and can be sown directly in the bed or grown on the windowsill from February/March. Varieties vary in winter hardiness and flower colors.
Should I collect or buy seeds?
You can buy phlox seeds or collect them yourself. However, you should keep in mind that the seeds you get directly from the plants in your garden are not true to the variety. This means that the phloxes that grow from it will not necessarily have the same flower color as the original plant. If you love surprises, you'll still enjoy it.
If you want a specific flower color or growth habit, then use seeds from specialist retailers. There you will find an impressive selection of seeds for annual and perennial phlox. While the perennial varieties are mostly monochrome, the annual varieties also delight you with star-shaped or multi-colored flowers.
Sowing Phlox
Phlox is a cold germinator. The seeds first need a cooler temperature in order to be able to germinate. With purchased seeds, you don't have to worry about this. You can store seeds you have collected yourself in the refrigerator for a few days or you can let nature take its course with its temperature fluctuations, sow them and wait for the seeds to germinate on their own. That will happen next spring at the latest.
Since the flame flower germinates very easily, you can simply scatter the seeds loosely in the intended flower bed and wait. If you do not cut off the inflorescences that have finished blooming, your phlox will even self-seed. If you would like to have strong plants early in spring, then we recommend growing the phlox in the greenhouse or on the windowsill from February or March.
The most important things in brief:
- self-collected seeds not of the same variety
- Cold germination
- Easily removes itself
- annual varieties with greater variety of colors
- perennial phlox is hardy
Tips & Tricks
When buying Phlox seeds, you have the choice between different growth forms and flower colors. With a mixed seed packet you can look forward to the greatest variety of colors.
