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Phlox pulvinata
Also called Alpine Phlox
Cushion phlox is a low, mat-forming perennial from high mountains and plateaus in the western US, forming dense carpets of small white to pale pink flowers, often among the first to bloom in spring. The key to growing it is cool conditions, sharp drainage and full sun.
Phlox pulvinata is a species of phlox known by the common name cushion phlox. It is native to the western United States where it grows in mountain and plateau habitat, in rocky subalpine and alpine climates, including exposed tundra habitat. It is a perennial herb taking a flat, dense, cushionlike form on the ground. Its very short stems are lined with hair-fringed lance-shaped leaves each no more than one centimeter (2⁄5 in) long. The plant is among the first to flower in the spring in many areas. It blooms densely, forming carpets of flowers. Each white to pale pink flower has a tubular throat up to one centimeter (2⁄5 in) long and a flat five-lobed corolla.
Slender phlox · Northern phlox · Alyssumleaf phlox · Hairy phlox · Mountain phlox · Cleft phlox · Swordleaf phlox · Tufted phlox · Thickleaf phlox · Dwarf phlox · Pointed phlox · Spreading phlox
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phlox pulvinata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
