An Idiot Weed-Eated My Phlox!

Hello, a well-meaning, but stupid, person just weed-eated all my tall phlox all the way to the ground. It was already about 8 inches tall. We have had it for years and years and it is a very large area. I am heartbroken. We love it so much. Will it come back out or should I just go ahead and shoot the idiot?

Thanks for your help.

Cheryl Byars

Doug says it will be fine. The "idiot" may not be but the plant will reshoot. We actually have a name for this - it's called "whippersnipper disease" and it's actually quite common. :-)

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An Idiot Weed-Eated My Phlox!

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My beloved idiot weeded my peony.
by: Anonymous

Yes, I've been a victim of a well-meaning idiot as well.

I pointed out the root that I had planted and said "Do not touch this. This is my peony root."

Four weeks later, tender shoots appeared and I told my beloved idiot, "Do not touch these. These are peony shoots. We will not see anything significant for at least two years."

Lo and behold my well-meaning idiot yanked the shoots out of the soil yesterday thinking they were weeds. I actually cried.

What do I do? Bury my idiot or hope that new shoots emerge?

He's wacked here before too...
by: Bonnie

I feel I have company now and thinking, was I the only one that can't find a landscaper with a brain.
Countless times I've quoted out loud for no apparent reason: "IDEOT!", after finding my brand new pride and joy was just plucked out as a weed and left behind only a plastic marker from the store :(
I feel like a control freak not letting anyone touch my beautiful 1/2 acre of English Gardens. We just fired the last so called landscaper two days ago.

Weed-eaten flowers
by: AnnaInMD

Would you like to guess how many of my plants have fallen prey to my Round-Up wielding husband ?

Wackin' weedwackers!
by: Helen at Toronto Gardens

I once worked with our kids' school on the new teaching garden. The kids wanted to grow vegetables... but there was the small obstacle of summer vacation. So the grade 2/3 class decided to try garlic. Caretaker with a weed-whipper took care of that.

Love thy flox more than thy spouse?
by: Henry

Wild flox and geraniums are some of the heartiest and prettiest presents of nature in our woodlands. They spread and return every year withou ado. Your flox likely will not only return but even still blume this year and, certainly, next year. So, love thy spouse and hug him/her often. He/she might start blossoming, too!

The only thing, we haven't found a remedy for, is flox mildew that regularly visits each fall. Perhaps

Doug has an answer?

Been there, had that done
by: jodi

Oh, we've all been through this, haven't we? You may find your phlox is even better for the experience, though--it may return shorter, bushier, and more floriferous, less apt to need staking. I routinely cut back some of my taller perennials in the spring to get them to be bushier.
However, I confess to weed-eater envy, as we have nothing much growing here in my Nova Scotian garden, where it MIGHT SNOW tonight...

Poor Phlox!
by: Anonymous

The idiot could have been my husband, and you have my permission to shoot him. :) Goodness knows I have wanted to on occasion! Especially when he girdled my coral bark maple tree. I love the look of phlox, and they just don't deserve this type of treatment. It's good to know they will survive. Hang in there, and hide the weed-eater! Wishing you a summer of colorful flowers.

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Doug Green