Fashionably Early Crystal is a tall hybrid phlox with pure white flowers marked by a faint pale purple eye. It opens two to three weeks ahead of ordinary garden phlox, stays in flower from June through much of July and often adds a few blooms in fall.
The broad, thick, dark green leaves resist powdery mildew and look good all season. At 28 to 32 inches, it works in the center or rear of a border and creeps outward slowly by underground stems. Butterflies and bees visit the fragrant flowers.
What it looks like
Well-defined, dome-shaped panicles are made of flat, five-petaled flowers about 1 inch across in pure white, each with a faint pale purple eye. The panicles sit atop strong, upright stems. Leaves are broad, lance-shaped, thick and leathery, dark green and slightly glossy, arranged in pairs up the stems. The plant forms an upright, slowly spreading clump about 28 to 32 inches tall and 26 to 30 inches wide. At peak bloom crisp white flower heads cap every stem.
Growing it with lavender
Phlox enjoys sun like lavender but wants richer soil and more regular water, so plant it in an adjacent cottage border, where its white flowers pick up as the first lavender bloom winds down.
Care
Plant in full sun for the best flowers, or part shade, in average to fertile, well-drained soil with regular water. Hardy in zones 4-8. Shear spent flower heads after the first flush to encourage more blooms later, and give it room for air to move, which helps keep the leaves clean; it spreads slowly by underground stems.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Phlox
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Flower color: Pure white with a faint light purple eye
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Foliage: Dark green
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Growth habit: Upright, slowly spreading clump
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Mature size: 28–32 in tall × 26–30 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Mid-June
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Peak bloom: Early-July
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Susceptible
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Pollinator value: Great
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
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