"Nicky", because of it's deep rich cherry red color, and it's mildew resistance.
Robin

'David', because of its sturdy and robust growth habit, mildew resistance, profuse blooms and propensity for rebloom.

{{gwi:260170}}

Blue Paradise...because it is early, intense blue in the AM and PM but purple-ish at mid day, and because it does not show mildew.
BP at mid day:
{{gwi:260171}}

I also love Franz Schubert because it is pale in colour and looks terrific against dark foliaged plants and glows in the evening. Also it is mildew resistant.

FS:
{{gwi:260172}}

Another vote for David. But I have some of the old fashioned variety in a difficult, shady spot that do very well and are blooming right now. They aren't troubled much by mildew--goodness knows why.
David just opening
{{gwi:260173}}

Nora Leigh is one of my favorites. I love the varigation, and it's a good healthy plant. Franz Schubert is another favorite. It really does light up in the evening. My clump of Franz Schubert is huge this year, what a stunner, and fragrant too.
{{gwi:260174}}

My very favorite is David -- he's a bloom machine, and clean of mildew in the summer.

My second and third favorites are Robert Poore and Nicky. I love the color of both of them. Nicky is such a knockout dark park.

Fairy's Petticoat. I bought it a long time ago because of the name, which I loved, and then I loved the flowers, pale pink with a deeper pink eye. I had several nice groups of them. They were healthy and easy til the woodchucks ate them several years in a row and they disappeared. I never see them in catalogs or nurseries anymore--:(

I can't help it I still love Bright Eyes the best. Never gives me a moments trouble and the color is just wonderful, not to mention the scent.

If the bunnies don't get to it first, I love the bright red blooms of "Starfire".

I love Phlox paniculata! The blooms are so showy and lush and they are also fragrant. I have three varieties - Franz Shubert, Nora Leigh, and one called Harlequin that has dark pink blooms, but it has not been a vigorous grower for me.

I don't know what my favorite is yet - I still want other varieties, but am limited on space. I'm planning to buy a Phlox "David" and fit it in somewhere though.

In this photo, the Franz Shubert is in front, which has been blooming for about 3 weeks, and a taller Nora Leigh is in the back which has just started to bloom. The Nora Leigh is four feet tall this year!

I also have been pleased with my Nicky, Robert Poore, and David phlox. However, my very favorite:

-> produces fragrant, pinkish-purple flowers

-> is a magnetic draw for butterflies, and other interesting pollinators like the hummingbird moth

-> starts flowering late in the season, but then flowers keep on going through September into early October

-> is tall and vigorous, growing to 5 feet or even higher

-> at least in my garden, is virtually immune to mildew

Can you guess its name?

I like summer phlox (I inherited a 'David' in the yard) but the aroma (more like smell) is a bit strong and slightly off from what I want a flower to smell like. Can't even cut a bunch for inside, it smells up the whole house! Is there any varieties with a better/more pleasing fragrance? Thanks.

J

I have several varieties, but David is my Fav. I never thought a plain white flower could be so vibrant and attention getting. I also like Nicky.

In the bluestone catalogue, they say that Phlox are the backbone of the summer perennial garden, and I would have to agree wholeheartedly.
Kathy

without a doubt -
Dwarf phlox pink flame - about 18 - 24 inches tall; hot pink; bloomed from late May until now; survived in full sun with a month of 90 degree days; no mildew; need a go on?

I have David (white) and Bright Eyes (pink with red eyes) & both do very well for me. David is the most vigorous, having bloomed well its first year in the ground from very tiny starts, and making a really large clump over the next few years. No mildew on either variety. David blooms a week or two later than Bright Eyes & there is always some overlap - so in my small yard it really helps that David is white, so the colors don't fight each other.

I also have Starfire in another part of the yard which has not been as vigorous as the other two, but has such a really lovely bright color that I wouldn't want to do without it. It is a bright cherry red (blue side of red, but not at all purple). Since it is such a dominating color, it has to be sited somewhat carefully - goes with lots of thing well, but not "pink" daylilies which in real life are often rather peachy. I have never had it mildew, but it tends to lean out - probably the location - but its a bit of a pain to have to stake it every year and while it blooms and always has some rebloom, it has not expanded much it its 4 years in my yard. If I had the room I would plant it elsewhere in a more open aspect with better conditions and work on color scheming with this one - would be fun.

Then I have an old one just bought as "Red" many years ago (before I bought Starfire) but which is really a very deep purplish color. It's a nice vigorous grower but mildews badly so I have to hide its foliage behind other plants. I have never removed it because every year it fights its way up and through a planting that is so densely packed that I feel the phlox has earned its space. There is no way I could replace it with a young new start and have it survive the conditions in this bed, which in addition to being to crowded is now becoming more shaded each year. Old "Red" doesn't seem to mind and blooms after most other things in that bed are slowing down.

Lastly I have Orange Perfection. I really like this one, but its color is a little hard to work with in planting combinations. The color of OP is hard to describe. It is not really at all close to the orange color of zinnias or heleniums or orange daylilies, but more a rich terra cotta (with a slight bluish tint) and it has a rosy red center which adds to that effect! I originally bought it for a small orange bed in a corner of my yard - when it bloomed it looked strikingly awful next to the other plants in the bed, so everything had to be redone. It is the last phlox to bloom in my yard and it established itself very quickly, definitely not a sleep, creep, leap perennial, having forgot both the sleep and creep periods! BTW, I find that it looks best with foliage plants, dark greens, chartreuses, or bronzes work well, can handle some clear yellows or soft cream blooms okay, but does not play well with crayon orange or clear red, or red orange, or even most blues.

My favorite is John Fannick. It's not too tall, it doesn't get powdery mildew, and it has a very long bloom season.

Randy

John Fannick:
{{gwi:260176}}

Irobins, are you describing the species? I for one can't guess the name, so awaiting your answer! :-)

My favorite pholx is 'Laura' a lavender-purple with a white star in the center. A very strong plant and not so much as a hint of mildew.

I love 'David' too. When I cut him back in the early summer, I take all of the top cuttings and jam them into the soil. They root easily and so far none of my friends have been able to tell which ones are the parent and which are the offspring. Don't know what an expert would have to say about it, but it works for me!

Patti

My favorite is Franz Schubert, because of its fragrance and beautiful pastel lilac color, but I also like Katherine and many of the others, such as David and Bright Eyes mentioned above.

Natasha, too -- not a paniculata -- is a real winner, but of all the phlox, Pilosa is nearest and dearest to my heart. It is a late spring bloomer so is sort of off-topic, but I just can't resist putting in a word for it. It has a lovely fragrance and increases nicely without being invasive.

Here is a link that might be useful: phlox pilosa

David has been fabulous in my garden this year. It looks good and attracts hummers and sphinx moths. Mine bloomed well for a couple weeks in July/Aug, quit for about three weeks and then covered itself with blooms again the first of Sept. It's still a mass of flowers on Sept 20. I deadheaded the first flush of blooms but never cut it back.

Patti, I'm gonna try your method of sticking left over cuttings in the soil. I love plants like that!

I love David for the number of blooms, its early start and the fragrance. I also have one called Mt. Fuji that I like a lot which has a very nice shape though not as floriferous as David.

David with Mountain Bluet in July
{{gwi:260177}}

Mt. Fuji
{{gwi:260178}}

I love all the ones I have, even though most get mildew. But my 2 favorites are David and Miss Ellie. David for it's wonderful scent and Miss Ellie for the color and non-stop blooming. It's my 1st one to bloom, at least 2 wks before the others and the last to finish. It's what I call a shocking pink with a dark eye. What I also like is it gets many branches off of the main stems and there are so many flowers! It's still blooming for me and usually continues until mid to late Oct. depending on the weather. It doesn't get much mildew either. The scent is good, but David wins hands down on that!

Kat

Nightnurse, what variety is the monarda behind the phlox in your second picture? Love the color!

Glad this thread came up. I just bought 'Starfire' yesterday and planted it about an hour ago. I had a bareroot of the same planted this past spring but only one little stem came up so am hoping for better luck with an established plant (and maybe the bareroot will ressurect next year, but that seems doubtful).

Lrobins, you never told us the name of your favorite phlox...

David. I do have a weakness for white flowers but really its my favorite because it is so robust. From 3 tiny bareroots last year I have a huge clump that is re-blooming now after I cut it back a bit after its initial bloom. The clump was nearly 4 feet tall in mid summer and it filled my back yard with its fragrance.

Lrobins - is your favorite phlox not a cultivar but plain old species Phlox Paniculata? The description on Plantfiles seems to fit your description!