Phlox paniculata 'Popeye'

An unusual white phlox, this is the only one I am aware of that has beaujolais-red flower tubes, and this feature adds much distinction. The eye of the floret is of the same red, and just faintly visible on the face of the floret. It is also unusual to find a white phlox with such dark foliage, and darkly pigmented buds and bracts. I have seen truly majestic pyramidal panicles on this cultivar, bigger than any else seen in our gardens before, although this could have been due to a cultural ‘accident’. That particular plant had, through misadventure, lost all of its stems but one, so all of the energy of the plant expressed itself in that single stem and flower, resulting in one enormous flower head. As most gardeners know, whittling down the numbers of buds or branches on a plant will favor larger growth of flower or fruit on the remaining branches, so it is quite likely this process was in play with my ‘Popeye’. Try it yourself sometime, just for fun, or especially if you want to exhibit blooms at a flower show.