White Garden Phlox

White Garden Phlox

Common name:  White Garden Phlox

Scientific name:  Phlox paniculata 'David'

Family:  Phlox or Jacob's Ladder, Polemoniaceae

Bloom period:  June through early fall.

Where to see it:  This white phlox can be seen in the Building 1 and 2 gardens.

What to look for:  The 'David' cultivar produces pure white, fragrant, tubular flowers, densely arranged in large panicles (pyramidal clusters) atop long stems. 

Benefit to pollinators:  Phlox produce a lot of sweet nectar, so they are often visited by butterflies, moths, bees, and hummingbirds.

More information:  Phlox is famous for its perfumy vanilla-clove scent.  The cultivar, ‘David,’ is named after the husband of FM Mooberry, who oversaw horticulture at Brandywine Conservancy in southeastern Pennsylvania.  This cultivar was discovered as a seedling there.  The Perennial Plant Association named Phlox ‘David’ the Perennial Plant of the year in 2002.