Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'
Phlox subulata 'Candy Stripe' · Polemoniaceae
Every flower is white with a broad pink stripe down the middle of each petal, like peppermint candy, over an evergreen mat.
- Size
- 5 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'
The planner designed this bed around creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' × 6, pink
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 3, pink
- 3 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 5, tan
- 4 False sunflower × 3, yellow
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Sedum 'Purple Emperor' × 3, pink
- 7 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
- 8 Giant snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 5 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 77% of the edge.
- 6 plants in 2 runs (3 and 3). Short runs, with other plants between, make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Fine leaf against bold. Sedum 'Purple Emperor' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For five of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 53 to 47, left to right. Pink runs through the planting: 4 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' goes in a border
At 5 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A novelty that works: from a distance it reads as soft pink, and at close range it is striped. Good on a wall at eye level.
- Wall tops at eye level
- Rock gardens
- Spring colour at the front
What to plant with creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Rock cress: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; tall enough (8 in) to stand behind it.
- Sea thrift: in flower together for two weeks, from early May; tall enough (8 in) to stand behind it.
- Grape hyacinth: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'
Does creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' need sun or shade?
Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 5 | Mid April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Early April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 9 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 in (12 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used six in two groups.
Is creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe'?
Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Sea thrift: from early May to mid June, 8 in tall (a recorded partner).
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
What does creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' look like in winter?
Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' keeps its green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' good for bees and butterflies?
Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Phlox
- Creeping phlox Phlox subulata
- Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue' Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue'
- Creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple' Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple'
- Creeping woodland phlox Phlox stolonifera
- Garden phlox Phlox paniculata
- Garden phlox 'Bright Eyes' Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes'
- Garden phlox 'David' Phlox paniculata 'David'
- Garden phlox 'Jeana' Phlox paniculata 'Jeana'
- Garden phlox 'Laura' Phlox paniculata 'Laura'
- Woodland phlox Phlox divaricata
- Woodland phlox 'Blue Moon' Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 5 in (12 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May; open bowls; pink, white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Polemoniaceae
- Comes from
- Central and Eastern Canada and Central and Eastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, poor soil, pollution, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.