u/LegalManufacturer946

NY-based. Back in the fall, I had my landscaper put the leaves from my yard into my native garden bed.

Now I’m worried that perhaps there were too many leaves left in the garden bed, as I typically start to see my wild blue phlox start to grow in around this time. I removed some of the layers and the phlox is still there, just looking very pale.

Do you think they will grow ok at this point? If I had left the leaves, do you think they would have eventually grown through to the top layer, or would they have been smothered?

Thank you.