Jeana Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata 'Jeana') is the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2024. (Contributed)
Add lasting beauty and pollinator appeal to your garden with Jeana Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata 'Jeana'), this year's winner of the Perennial Plant of the Year Award. Valued for its tall, hardy habit and dense, fragrant flower heads, it is a welcome addition to perennials, meadows, pollinator gardens and mixed borders.
Grow this perennial phlox in full sun with some afternoon shade in hot climates. It is hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8 and grows and blooms best in moist, fertile, well-drained soil.
Perennial Plants of the Year (PPOY) are selected by members of the Perennial Plant Society for their suitability in a variety of climate conditions, ease of care, relative resistance to pests and diseases, availability, and continued beauty for many seasons. The program began in 1990, and details of past winners can be found on the Perennial Plant Society website.
Native to North America, this cultivar of Phlox paniculata was found along the Harpeth River near Nashville, Tennessee. It is named after the woman who discovered it, Gina Prewitt. The plant stood out for its mildew-resistant leaves. Gina is the head gardener at Bedside Manor in Brentwood, Tennessee. She took cuttings from the plant and began propagating it. Eventually, the plant was declared a new cultivar and has been available for sale for several years now.
The Mount Cuba Center, a Delaware botanical garden, found that this phlox performed best in trials, attracting more butterflies than other phlox over the two-year study. Fifteen volunteers from the pollinator monitoring team observed 94 different phlox species every week for two years. Gina was visited by 539 butterflies, far more than any of the other phlox studied, and especially attracted the attention of tiger swallowtails.
From mid-summer through fall, lavender-pink flowers in wine-colored clusters cover the plant. Although the flowers are smaller than other phlox, the dense, cone-shaped flower heads are made up of hundreds of petals and make a beautiful sight. Removing spent flowers (also called deadheading) encourages continued flowering and prevents inferior seedlings from self-sprouting.
Combine this 3- to 5-inch-tall plant with other perennials such as amsonia, Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum), iron butterfly ironweed (Vernonia lettermanii 'Iron Butterfly'), coneflower (echinacea) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), or use it as a backdrop for lower-growing plants such as alliums and woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa).
Find a place to plant this late-season bloomer in your garden or landscape and enjoy the flowers and butterflies that visit.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She is the host of The Great Courses' “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda's Garden Moment radio show. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
