I do nothing. Curious if you have waited long enough to see the full bloom?

Not to be fresh but buy trialed well rated varieties whichl increase your success with a lot less work and worry for you! They like good soil, and FULL sun. Thin stalks in spring for mildew control, nip tops around July4 for bushiness, water regularly and consistently. iIf you saw some perfect plants here someone caught them in a good moment. i cant imagine a garden without them but they are not what id call low maintence. They are so lovely when healthy and so very ugly when afflicted with mildew or brown dried leaves and naked srems. Phlox are like hydrangeas now: every year new re named introductions that differ just a bit from the previous year’s (and 2 years before that).

As Marie brings out, phlox paniculata really appreciate good soil, probably more so than some perennials. In my garden, it's notable the performance between those in excellent soil and ones in a bit tougher sites, Luminary Opalescence' has gone nothing but backwards in such a situation. Whereas, all others pretty well thrive. I don't do a great deal of amending, though always dig deeply to turn the soil over, spade goes full depth of 12 inches then plus probably a good 3 or 4 inches more, any hard sticky clay is removed, sometimes it can be a lot! I'm fortunate to have good soil I can obtain from other areas of the yard. This reminds me, 'Rainbow Dancer' sits neglected in a holding area, it MUST get in the ground tomorrow! As well, just picked up 'Flame Pink', it's a beauty!

GardenHo, who wouldn't love to have such a phlox as yours! :)

FB yes, I’m happy to have these, in more ways than one ❤️

Thank you all for commenting, it’s really helpful!

I have clay soil, so it makes sense then that my phlox are not thriving, even if they are in full sun.

Also, most of what I have is Luminary Opalescence and Uptown Girl that I mass-planted 3-4 years ago, so maybe I need to try more varieties.

And I added a lot of compost to my beds this Spring so hopefully that will help.

If anyone has named varieties that are great performers, please add in comments! 😍

Thanks!

Many people recommend thinning the clumps in spring to reduce mildew from crowding and to get bigger blooms. Great soil and fertilizer help, too.

Callirhoe, gives good advice regarding the use of fertilizer, I'd give such a try before putting too much effort into anything else. As for variety selection, yes, some perform better than others, for example, 'Cleopatra' I removed for the lack of prolonged bloom display, same with another that although being uniquely beautiful, the short bloom time did not justify the ground space allotted to it. 'Becky Towe' always does great for me, it tends to revert back to 'Windsor' and then flowers even more freely! I suggest checking out Chicago Phlox trials, although from many years back, still is a good reference.

Old never fail but hard to find::bright eyes, Dodo hanberry Forbes- neither mildew

David- very big very white i think a bit boring actually but great at a distance

i lost all the tags of newer ones

yes, the CBG phlox trials are a terrific reference

Garden Ho i had those old fashioned grow any where phlox! i we can only speculate….

perhaps vigor has been compromised in the fast releases of so many new varieties?

But notably your mom’s is an old tough one, bred to survive and has withstood the test of time,climate, and exposure. its real value is that it is loved!