They are pleasantly fragrant and 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) in diameter, with five petals fused at the base into a thin tube.

[2] The petals are a variety of pastel colors: blue-lavender, light purple, pink, or white.

Only butterflies, moths, skippers, and long-tongued bees have long enough tongues to drink the nectar.

[6] Short-tongued bees and flower flies are unable to reach the nectar, but may gather or feed on pollen.

Phlox divaricata[8] and the lavender-flowered cultivar 'Chattahoochee'[9] have both won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.