Annual Phlox is a showy blooming annual native to grasslands and meadows in Texas but has naturalized throughout the southeastern US along roadsides and fields. The 1-inch flowers come in white, red, and shades of pink or lavender with a lighter contrasting center eye. It blooms spring to early-summer and possibly again in the fall. It generally grows 6-12 inches high and wide and will reseed itself under good conditions. Annual phlox prefers sandy well-drained soils but can be established in any well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. It has moderate to high drought tolerance. More information on Phlox .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 3 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Mounding; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Opposite
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves are up to 3 inch long sticky, glandular, hairy clasping leaves. Lower leaves are opposite and upper leaves alternate.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Star; Trumpet; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Flowers are trumpet-shaped with a short tube and 5 star-shaped petals in terminal clusters. It blooms April to June and occasionally again in the fall. Colors vary and the center eye is a lighter color.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Texas
Distribution
AL , AR , CT , FL , GA , LA , MD , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , OK , SC , TN , TX , VA , VT
Wildlife value
The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The species is pollinated almost exclusively by Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail.
Phlox Plant Bug and Other Lopidea Plant Bugs; Oriental Beetle; Fourlined Plant Bug
Disease problems
Phytophthora Root and Crown Rot in the Landscape; Black Root Rot on Ornamental Plants; Phytophthora Blight and Root Rot on Annuals and Herbaceous Perennials