When Jan Verschoor discovered a Phlox with yellow buds growing among his crop of seedling experiments he was naturally astounded and eager with anticipation to see whether he really did have the world's first yellow Phlox on his hands.

Dark bracts make a strong contrast against the fresh buds.

It was an agonising wait for the buds to open. As we now know, those buds didn't reveal all-yellow flowers, but rather intriguing blossoms with yellow edges whose centres ranged between pink and white on one cluster.

The green-yellow petal edges are especially noticeable as the flowers are first opening.  

It's a strange colour mix, but one to fascinate all who have an interest in this much-loved genus.

The name 'Sherbet Cocktail' was inspired by the sherbet yellow and pink colors contrasted against the dark chocolaty-maroon bracts.

P. 'Sherbet Cocktail' in full glory

P. 'Sherbet Cocktail's flowers have a somewhat unconventional look about them, not just for the colouring of course but also because their petals are made of a sturdier substance than we normally see in Phlox.

The individual flowers are smaller by comparison to those we are getting used to seeing in P. paniculata hybrids these days, but they are many in number and tightly crammed into dense clusters. The overall effect tends to make one think of Hydrangea!

Maturing flowers

The discovery of P. 'Sherbet Cocktail' really does open the door for the possibility of an all-yellow Phlox. Jan is already busy with new breeding experiments in the pursuit of that dream, but mother nature will oblige when she's ready!

Phlox 'Sherbet Cocktail' in the Darwin PlantSpotters garden