The Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox, otherwise known as the Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 or New Zealand Flax ‘All Black’, Phormium ‘All Black’, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox are the following:
- Water: The Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox needs soil that is constantly moist through regular watering.
- Light: Keep your Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand and loam.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox belongs to the Asphodelaceae family, the genus Phormium and the species Tenax, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420.
As with other Phormium’s, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is a plant native to the New Zeland.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 will be most used to the heat zones in the 2 – 11 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a, 11b, 11a and the ideal climate zone is between 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 can grow up to 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm) in 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm) and 4′ – 5′ (120cm – 150cm) in 4′ – 5′ (120cm – 150cm).
These dimensions make the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox a relatively large perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 60″ (150cm) free so the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 needs soil that is constantly moist through regular watering.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low to average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand and loam.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
In particular, this perennial is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox produces some beautiful white, or brown/copper and red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a other/more complex organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox is well known for being able to attract birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for salt, drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox will look best in it.
Most Phlox Subulata ‘Cotton Candy’ Plant Patent #13,420 owners agree that this perennial will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, coastal garden, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a firescaping/fire wise, cutting garden, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Cotton Candy Creeping Phlox to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
