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Phlox pulchra

Alabama Phlox · Wherry's Phlox

Family PolemoniaceaeGenus Phlox

A pale lilac flower of five broad petals around a small white eye, rain-beaded, with others behind it on a hairy stem.
FlowerPhoto by David J. StangCC BY-SA 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
Pale lilacRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
AlabamaGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Alabama phlox grows only in Alabama and is ranked critically imperilled worldwide. Dr. Wherry first collected it in Walker County in 1929, thinking it was Phlox ovata, until plants in his care proved to differ. Wikipedia: Phlox pulchra

This source reports three treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 15, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing. Germination time not stated; 21 days assumed.

33% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191Public domain
Show the original text
Phlox (Polemonlaceae). Phlox seed is hard to collect as there are only a few seed in each spherical capsule and these capsules roll away as soon as ripe. As a result seed of Phlox is not readily available except for the annual P. pulchra germ. 40-70-40(1/3)-70 and none at 70 using fresh seed.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around September 17, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on September 16, 2026.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  3. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  4. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

Steps after step 3 run on after germination.

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

33% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191Public domain
Show the original text
Phlox (Polemonlaceae). Phlox seed is hard to collect as there are only a few seed in each spherical capsule and these capsules roll away as soon as ripe. As a result seed of Phlox is not readily available except for the annual P. pulchra germ. 40-70-40(1/3)-70 and none at 70 using fresh seed.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing.

0% germination.

Nothing germinated at 70.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191Public domain
Show the original text
Phlox (Polemonlaceae). Phlox seed is hard to collect as there are only a few seed in each spherical capsule and these capsules roll away as soon as ripe. As a result seed of Phlox is not readily available except for the annual P. pulchra germ. 40-70-40(1/3)-70 and none at 70 using fresh seed.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Phlox p. 191. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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