The story of Wanda phlox is the kind that happens in gardens rather than laboratories: a woman named Wanda passed it to plantsman Allan Armitage, who sent it to the University of Georgia trial gardens, and from there it moved into the trade without a patent, freely propagated by whoever wanted it. It is a hybrid of two different phlox types, compact like a low mounding form but carrying the larger flowers of the taller species, the best qualities of each parent showing clearly.

It blooms in spring and, with deadheading, rebounds for a second flush. Self-seeding adds to the planting gradually, though the seedlings will not come true. Stem cuttings root readily and will produce flowers even as the roots are forming, an unusual and endearing characteristic. It is more disease-resistant than many phlox, though powdery mildew remains a possibility in humid summers with poor air circulation.