Red Wing is a creeping phlox with pinkish-crimson flowers and dark red centers that blanket the plant in spring. The color is strong enough to be seen from a distance.
It forms a low, carpet-like mat no taller than about 6 inches and is an easy choice for slopes, rocky spots and the front of the border. Butterflies and bees visit the flowers.
What it looks like
Flat, five-petaled flowers about 3/4 inch across in pinkish crimson, each with a dark red center, are packed so tightly that they hide the foliage. The leaves are tiny, stiff and needle-like, green, on trailing stems. The plant forms a low, dense mat about 4 to 6 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide. At peak bloom it is a solid carpet of deep pink-red.
Growing it with lavender
Creeping phlox likes the same sun and well-drained soil as lavender, and its crimson carpet makes a neat spring edging along lavender beds, blooming weeks before the lavender does.
Care
Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil; it tolerates dry spells and dislikes soggy ground. Hardy in zones 2-9. After bloom, shear the mat back by about a third to keep it dense and tidy.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Phlox subulata
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Flower color: Pinkish crimson with a dark red center
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Foliage: Green
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Growth habit: Low, spreading mat
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Mature size: 4–6 in tall × 12–18 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 2–9
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Late-April
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Peak bloom: Early-May
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
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
Community Grower Report
