Does Creeping Phlox Creep Up or Down?

RJM62

RJM62

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geek on the Hill
I want to plant creeping phlox on a difficult-to-mow slope as a ground cover. The height of the slope increases from about three feet on the low side to about seven feet on the high side.

Does the phlox tend to creep upwards to find the sun, downwards because of gravity, or in both directions irrespective of either?

None of the gardening fora I've perused seem to address this rather simple question. They speak about phlox in great detail, even touching upon the evolutionary forces that differentiated the various species, but I can find nothing about whether the creeping direction tends to follow the sun, gravity, or neither.

The phlox I bought are candy-striped phlox, Phlox subulata, if that makes any difference. The gal at the nursery said they were very hardy and cold-tolerant, but also didn't know whether they crept up or down.

Thanks,

Rich
 
I've got some on the slight slope between my garage and hangar. It primarily seems to be running horizontally away from my hangar perhaps with a little tendency to the uphill side.
 
flyingron said:
I've got some on the slight slope between my garage and hangar. It primarily seems to be running horizontally away from my hangar perhaps with a little tendency to the uphill side.
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Okay, thanks.

-Rich
 
Rich
I have alot of it at my TN home. It likes the sun and requires little to zero maintenance once established. It will fall down ledges, embankments, etc tending to grow oval from point of planting but generally downhill. It does not spread quickly and if you have a large area to cover, you will need many many plants. A large slope may be better suited for something like blue rug juniper or pacific juniper as both will spread quickly and densely fill in slopes. When I planted a steep slope at my home with pacific juniper, we took chicken wire and spiked it to the ground around the junipers to hold mulch thus preventing the mulch from sliding downhill with rain, etc.
 
FORANE said:
Rich
I have alot of it at my TN home. It likes the sun and requires little to zero maintenance once established. It will fall down ledges, embankments, etc tending to grow oval from point of planting but generally downhill. It does not spread quickly and if you have a large area to cover, you will need many many plants. A large slope may be better suited for something like blue rug juniper or pacific juniper as both will spread quickly and densely fill in slopes. When I planted a steep slope at my home with pacific juniper, we took chicken wire and spiked it to the ground around the junipers to hold mulch thus preventing the mulch from sliding downhill with rain, etc.
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Thanks. I already purchased and planted the phlox, though... too few, I think, but I can always get more the next time I'm out that way. I'm pushing my luck with the frost risk, anyway.

Or if the creepage rate on the phlox is insufficient, I can switch to one of the ones you suggested. I also wasn't aware of how rocky this soil is. Now I know why dairy and marihuana are the only two kinds of farming they do here. There are more rocks than dirt! If rocks were oil, I'd be in Saudi Arabia!

For now, I'll see if the phlox grows, and take it from there. I'm basically open to pretty much anything that likes rocks and that I don't have to mow. Maybe dandelions would look nice.

-Rich
 
When we lived in New England the only truly reliable crop was rocks . . . now you know why we have all those rock walls every where -
 
comanchepilot said:
When we lived in New England the only truly reliable crop was rocks . . . now you know why we have all those rock walls every where -
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Hey! I have an idea! Let's put those rocks in little boxes and sell them as pets. :goofy: Never mind, it would never catch on.
 
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