Phlox glaberrima 'Morris Berd'

Now here's a great plant surrounded by a great controversy that I haven't had the time to sort out. All I know is this Phlox is as wonderful as the person whose honor it was named for, my friend Morris Berd, a gentleman and scholar who gardens for over a half century on 17 acres in Media PA. The large pink flowers on this 12-18" plant are stunning. The plant itself is trouble free and has no powdery mildew or any other disease or insect problems. The controversy stems from the fact that Charles and Martha Oliver of Primrose Path Nursery in Scottdale Pa and Don Hackenberry of Appalachian Wildflowers in Reidsville Pa, all of whom I love, admire, respect and revere, disagree as to the species of the plant. The Olivers insist on Phlox pulchra and Hackenberry says Phlox glaberrima I ain't getting in the middle of this one. I'll keep you posted as the dust settles. But whatever the name is, this is certainly a plant well worth growing.

We love phlox, and summer will find us nose to flower cluster as we inhale the sweet mown hay scent of the bloom clusters. The Chicago Botanic Garden loves this native phlox for its “good health, strong habits and high flower production in superior plants for a variety of landscape uses.” A compact, ground-covering selection with rosy pink flowers, it is long blooming, from spring to midsummer and combines well with amsonia in moist well-drained soils.