General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Sun Requirements: Partial Shade to Full Shade
Water Preferences: Wet Mesic
Mesic
Dry Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Plant Height: 12 - 18 inches
Plant Spread: 6 - 12 inches
Leaves: Semi-evergreen
Fruit: Other: Seeds are carried inside a capsule, which splits open when ripe and throws the seeds away from the parent plant.
Fruiting Time: Summer
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Flower Color: Blue
Lavender
White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring
Underground structures: Rhizome
Uses: Groundcover
Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Butterflies
Propagation: Seeds: Provide light
Stratify seeds: Seeds need alternating periods of warm and cold stratification to germinate
Can handle transplanting
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Layering
Division
Pollinators: Moths and Butterflies
Bees

Image
Common names
  • Wild Blue Phlox
  • Wild Sweet William
  • Louisiana Blue Phlox
  • Blue Woodland Phlox

Photo Gallery
Location: 382 River Road, Pequea, PA 17565
Date: May 8, 2015
Phlox divaricata growing in full sun
Location: My garden, Willow Valley Communities, Lakes Campus, Willow Street, Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-05-11
Location: My garden, Willow Valley Communities, Lakes Campus, Willow Street, Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-05-11
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2011-04-29
Location: Fairfax, VA
Not fully dormant, this plant, is.
Location: My garden, Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens in South Amana, IA
Date: Spring 2011
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2011-04-25
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2011-04-18
w/ chives and moneywort
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2016-04-26
Return reliably every year.
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Date: 2022-04-13
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2013-04-26
Location: Hiking Trail In Fairfax :-)
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Date: 2014-05-30
Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) in woodland landscaped garden
Location: Kentucky
Location: Natural Area in Northeastern Indiana - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-29
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2015-04-23

Courtesy Crownsville Nursery
  • Uploaded by vic
Location: Roaring Fork Motor Trail, Gatlinburg, Tn.
Date: April 12, 2016
Lovely color
Location: Northeastern, Texas
Date: 2019-12-04
Emerged from fall sown seeds
Location: East Tennessee
Date: 2016-04-03
Location: My garden in Kentucky
Date: 2012-04-22
Location: My garden in Kentucky
Date: 2015-03-21
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-05-01
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-05-01
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2013-04-26
Location: Des Plaines, IL
Date: 3/22/12

Photo Courtesy of Prairie Nursery. Used with Permission
  • Uploaded by Joy

Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm Nursery.
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: Natural Area in Northeastern Indiana - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-29
Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2011-04-26
Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2013-05-22
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2012-03-25
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2013-04-12
Location: Mississippi
Date: 2013-05-02
white form

Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm Nursery.
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: My garden in Kentucky
Date: 2012-03-27
Location: Natural Area in Northeastern Indiana - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-29
Location: Natural Area in Northeastern Indiana - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-29
Location: Natural Area in Northeastern Indiana - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-29
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2015-04-12
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by sherrilosee (Bloomington, IN - Zone 6a) on Aug 18, 2012 8:13 PM concerning plant:
    So sweet and so BLUE! Love this plant. And, the foliage does not go dormant in the Chicago area.
  • Posted by jmorth (central Illinois) on Jan 15, 2012 3:15 PM concerning plant:
    Common wildflower in Illinois and Indiana found in partial shade of rich, moist or rocky woodlands. Often in patches or colonies along streams. Perennial root system is tough, fibrous, and stringy. Flowers noted for their color, beauty, and fragrance.
    Pioneers made a leaf tea to treat eczema and to purify the blood. A root tea was used to treat venereal disease.
  • Posted by janelp_lee (Toronto, Ontario - Zone 6a) on Jan 23, 2020 8:39 AM concerning plant:
    Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) is a great, cold hardy perennial that has many flower stems, each stem with many very fragrant flowers in late spring. Good for cut flower and attracts bees and butterflies. Great for woodland garden or rock garden.
  • Posted by Trish (Grapevine, TX - Zone 8a) on Apr 27, 2022 6:39 AM concerning plant:
    Quick Facts about Wild Blue Phlox:

    -A perennial that thrives in partial shade
    -Northern woodland native; some strains hardy to -40°F.
    -Spreads easily by seed, but also by runners
    -Blooms in spring after early bulbs
    -Softly fragrant, but not heady, scent
Plant Events from our members
lovesblooms On April 25, 2015 Obtained plant
jhugart On May 22, 2020 Transplanted
Planted in two groups in the East bed with the plants from Plant Place. One group is behind the water barrel, the other is against the basement wall behind taller plants.
jhugart On May 22, 2020 Obtained plant
Acquired three small plants from Mother Earth Gardens in Northeast Minneapolis, MN.
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