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Creeping phlox

    Date Posted: Tue, Jun 21 - 9:58 pm

    Question

  • My creeping phlox was planted about a month ago. When I bought it it had some dried out looking leaves. Now it is looking more dried out at the base and many leave are turning yellow. I am wondering if there is a way to save them?
  • Answer

  • Hello there, There are a couple of phloxes that could be described as creeping. There's moss phlox (phlox subulata), which is very short and creeps, there's creeping phlox (phlox stolonifera) which is taller and creeps, and there phlox divaricata also taller and creeps. However, I think they all suffer from similar problems so it may not really matter which one is in question. The plant could be suffering from some fungal disease or it could be a virus. A fungal issue could possibly be resolved. A viral problem cannot. It's impossible to know which issue you have without a diagnosis but you could try using a fungal spray (there are some less toxic sprays on the market that can be used safely if you avoid spraying when insects are busy) and if the plant rebounds you know that was the problem. If it doesn't rebound, it's viral and you should pull it up and dispose of it in the trash rather than compost. Sometimes compost won't kill the pathogen, so to be on the safe side I'd use the trash bin. Good luck! Let us know if you have further questions.