Creeping Phlox 'Sherwood Purple'
Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple'
Deep violet-purple spring flowers over trailing evergreen mats. The native phlox for shaded paths, slopes, and the ground under trees.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The fragrant, deep-purple shade groundcover for spring. a woodland phlox that delivers flower show, fragrance, and year-round evergreen coverage in one plant.
'Sherwood Purple' is a selected form of native creeping phlox with deep violet-purple flowers, more saturated and richer in color than many phlox cultivars, held above trailing mats of evergreen foliage in mid-spring. The flowers are fragrant, releasing a sweet, slightly spicy scent when you kneel down in the garden on a warm April morning. The prostrate stems root as they spread, gradually covering ground under deciduous trees or along shaded path edges with a mat of dark green leaves that holds through winter. Unlike moss phlox (Phlox subulata), which needs full sun and lean soil, creeping phlox is a woodland plant adapted to moist shade and rich soil. It's the native phlox for under trees, shaded slopes, and north-facing borders. The 'Sherwood Purple' cultivar was selected specifically for its deep color and compact, dense spreading habit. Plant it along a shaded walkway where you'll brush against it in spring and catch the fragrance, or use it as a weed-suppressing groundcover under shrubs where less-visible plants would go unnoticed.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown creeping phlox 'sherwood purple' propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
Plant creeping phlox 'sherwood purple' instead of Periwinkle (Vinca minor) as a flowering shade groundcover. Same job in the garden, without the spread.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 4–9 in · 12–24 in wide
- Bloom time
- Mid-spring
- Bloom color
- Purple
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Family
- Polemoniaceae
- Native range
- Appalachian region from Pennsylvania south to Georgia; rich, moist, shaded woodland floors
Care notes for creeping phlox 'sherwood purple'.
Part to full shade, moist to average, humus-rich, well-drained soil. Amend with compost at planting. Mulch annually with shredded leaves. Shear back by one-third after blooming to encourage fresh growth and maintain compact form. Water during establishment; drought tolerant once rooted. Divide and replant rooted stems in fall to fill gaps. No serious pest issues.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside creeping phlox 'sherwood purple'.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.

Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.

Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.

Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.