If you’ve got a phlox you really like and want more of around the garden March and early April is a great time to propagate new ones or divide existing plants whilst the plants are desperate to grow and the ground is moist and warming up!
It’s actually amazingly simple, first if you look around your plants right now you’ll find small baby plants growing, simply dig these up and pot them on for a month before planting them out. If you look at the photo below left you can see new plants growing to the left, underneath and top right of the main plant.
To divide phlox dig up the clump you want to separate (such as the one above left), and cut in to pieces using a sharp spade. Separate it in to multiple sections, plant one back in the original spot and plant the others where you want them elsewhere in the garden. Make sure to save any small parts that fall off, pot up and leave in a cold frame or somewhere reasonably protected, and many of these will take as further new plants that you can plant out in a month or so.
You will often hear people talk about root cuttings, I’ve not mastered this method yet but if I do I’ll share how in a future post. In the meantime the above work for me and are simple!