Maiden pink, flower-bearing and fragrant

Bush full of maiden pink flowers (dianthus deltoides)

Maiden pink is a very beautiful small perennial, excellent to decorate rocky areas and low-lying walls.

Major Maiden pink facts

Name – Dianthus deltoides
Family – Caryophyllaceae
Type – perennial, annual or biennial

Height
 – 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary

Flowering – May to September.

Caring for it is easy, and the tips presented here will let you have magnificent Dianthus deltoides all summer long.

Planting Maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides

For Maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides carnations

Maiden pink carnation loves warm and sunny spots, it’s important for beautiful blooming.

  • When planting, dip the clump in water for a minute or two before settling it in a blend of soil mix and garden soil.

If planting in garden boxes or pots, better to use only soil mix.

  • Planting can be done indifferently in fall or in spring, carefully keeping a space of 8/10 inches (20/25 cm) between plants.
  • Perennial carnation cuttings are very easy to perform starting from the month of May.
  • They can also be multiplied through crown division in fall.

Pruning and caring for maiden pink

Care for dianthus deltoides, or maiden pink, isn't very difficultThis carnation is very resilient and only requires little care, at most simply removing wilted flowers as they come and go.

Note that maiden pink resists particularly well to drought and normally doesn’t require any water.

  • To stimulate appearance of new flowers, cut wilted flowers regularly (deadheading).
  • Water in case of prolonged dry spells or heat wave only.

All there is to know about maiden pink

The vast range of maiden pink varieties offers just as vast an array of possible colors.

This small perennial is nonetheless always very generous in flowering and it helps to furnish your flower beds, edges, low walls, rocky surfaces and garden boxes.

With bright colors and very fragrant, seize the opportunity of mixing several species within the same flower bed.

  • Note that it grows really fast.
  • If quickly overtakes any weeds.

Smart tip about Maiden pink

These carnations hold very well in a bouquet and are beautiful in a floral composition.


Image credits (edits Gaspard Lorthiois):
Pixabay: Petra Fischer, Sophia