Intensia phlox adds color, blooms for six months
On more than one occasion I have been guilty of warning gardeners about the perils of being “outphloxed” by their neighbors. If this happens, your neighbors will certainly have the most dazzling landscape in the neighborhood. Should you feel that this danger is creeping upon you and your flower border, then remember the variety Intensia.
The Intensia phlox has certainly put the fun of growing color back into the everyday garden. The series has been out for a while but is still the one that others aspire to. When I was a horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University, we planted them in our spring trials in late April and they were still in magnificent bloom for the Fall Flower & Garden Fest in October.
A dozen years later, son James used Intensia Blueberry in a picturesque cottage garden with gomphrena, geraniums and vinca, not knowing his Old Dad was already a true believer in the series. I was anxious to see if they performed in Georgia as they did in Mississippi. It was a horticultural home run all the way, even as they were pulled for pansy planting in early November.
The Intensia series is really nothing short of sheer magic in the world of plant breeding and propagation courtesy of Proven Winners. Intensia Blueberry, Intensia Red Hot and Intensia White are all Phlox drummondii — native to Texas. I grew up in Texas and loved these phlox wildflowers, but they only bloomed for a few short weeks.
The Intensia series is different in that they are vegetatively propagated. I’ve already noted the biggest difference is that they simply keep blooming. I’ve watched them through staggering heat and humidity in Mississippi and Georgia and they are ruggedly persevering and beautiful.
This is the reason the Intensia Blueberry phlox has won awards like Top Performer at Mississippi State University, University of Georgia, University of Wisconsin, University of Florida, Iowa State, Colorado State and the list goes on.
Spring is the preferred time to plant. To be honest, if I saw some healthy quart or 6-inch containers at the garden center I would give them a try no matter the season. Select a site with fertile, well-drained soil giving them plenty of sun for best blooming. After planting, apply a good layer of mulch to conserve moisture and deter weed competition. This is not a phlox for wet feet so don’t over-water.
The Intensia series is low-maintenance, requiring no deadheading. In our Mississippi State trials, we gave them a light trimming in late summer to have them at their peak performance for our annual October Fall Flower and Garden Fest. Like many other phlox, the Intensia does have a wonderful fragrance and will do its part in feeding nectar-hungry bees and butterflies.
Because of their rugged nature you have a lot of choices when it comes to companion plantings. Truffula Pink Gomphrena, Luscious Marmalade or Berry Blend lantanas, and Unplugged So Blue salvia with the Red Hot and White would all make award-winning combinations.
By all means, include them in your mixed containers as well. They reach 16 inches tall and as wide, making them unbeatable in the filler role. They also excel in mixed hanging baskets.
The Intensia series is not your grandmother’s phlox; it’s better, tougher and blooms longer. I hope you give them a try, plant all three and you could just have a red, white and blue celebration for Memorial Day and Fourth of July. Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Toughas-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.”