Garden phlox as a promising culture for landscape compositions in urban greening in Western Siberia

Garden phlox ( Phlox paniculata ) is characterized by a variety of beautiful and bright inflorescences, unpretentiousness and a long blooming period. It is widely used in landscaping. The aim of the present research was to identify the most winter hardy ornamental varieties and forms of garden phlox for landscape compositions in urban greening in Western Siberia. The research was carried out at the Science & Research Production Laboratory “Sadovodstvo” of the Omsk State Agrarian University in 2015-2018 under the conditions of the southern forest-steppe of the Omsk Region. The variety “Rumyany” and the form No. 5 showed the highest winter hardiness index under the conditions of Western Siberia, with a 100% plant integrity index and a rating of winter hardiness of 5 points. Phlox aftergrowing was observed in spring during the first and second decade of April, with the sum of effective temperatures of 19-38ºС, while the beginning of blooming took place from May to August. The “Rumyany” variety showed a longer blooming period (111 days) compared to other varieties and forms, which had a shorter one (up to 21-35 days shorter). The garden phlox varieties “Rumyany”, “Peacock Purple Bicolour” and “Gzhel” can be considered promising for urban greening in Western Siberia with an ornamental assessment of 89-97 points over a 100-point scale.