Dianthus, the garden pinks

Barely six to eight inches high, the garden pinks (Dianthus) send up brightly coloured, strongly fragrant flowers from the end of spring to early autumn, furnishing flower beds, edges, low walls, rocky surfaces and garden boxes. Give them a warm spot in full sun and they flower generously, shrugging off drought with almost no watering.

Dianthus at a glance

Name	Dianthus
Family	Caryophyllaceae
Type	perennial, annual or biennial
Height	6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm)
Exposure	full sun
Soil	ordinary
Flowering	end of spring to early fall

Nicknamed the Flower of the Gods, this is most certainly due to the amazing beauty of its flowers. It is excellent to decorate gardens.

Planting dianthus

Dianthus 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.
• Cuttings from dianthus stems is easy to succeed in starting from late spring.
• They can also be multiplied through crown division in fall.

Sowing Dianthus from seed

Sowing dianthus is best when performed in late winter, indoors. Ideal temperatures are around 70°F (20°C).

• Bury the seed under somewhat with your thumb, and cover with soil mix.
• Sprouting should occur after 8 to 10 days.
• Keep the substrate a little moist and water with lukewarm water.
• After the sprouting, move the seedlings to a slightly cooler spot, ideally around 55°F (12°C).

• Prick the seedlings out into individual pots once they are large enough to handle, usually when the first true leaves have developed, holding them by a leaf rather than the fragile stem.
• Sow dianthus in a gritty, free-draining seed compost and water from below, since seedlings of most species are vulnerable to damping-off fungi when compost stays cold, crowded and waterlogged.
• Harden the young plants off outdoors for a week or two before they go into their sunny bed.

Four ways to start dianthus, compared

Dianthus can be raised from seed, from cuttings, by division or simply planted out as clumps. The method you choose mainly decides when you have to be ready.

Whichever route you take, the warm sunny spot matters more than the method.

Pruning and caring for dianthus

Dianthus is very resilient and only requires little care, at most simply removing wilted flowers as they come and go.

Note that dianthus 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.

• Keep bark or compost mulch off the collar of dianthus and spread coarse grit or gravel around the crown instead, since damp material resting against the stems can encourage fungal rot.
• Feed pinks (Dianthus) with a high-potash fertiliser rather than a nitrogen-rich one, since excess nitrogen encourages soft, leafy growth at the expense of flowering, which is usually the reason for growing them.
• Dianthus in pots and garden boxes still needs regular watering, as the limited soil mix dries out much faster than open ground.

Eight widely grown dianthus varieties, compared

Garden centres and seed catalogues carry dozens of pinks, but a handful turn up again and again because they are reliable and easy to place. The table below sorts the best-known ones by colour, scent and where they earn their keep.

All there is to know about dianthus

“Dianthus” comes from the ancient Greek word “Dios” which stood for Zeus and Jupiter (for Romans), combined with the word “anthos” to produce the phrase “Flower of the Gods”, most certainly because this flower is so appealing to the eye.

The vast range of Dianthus 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.

Note that these days, it’s possible to find among the many carnation breeds. Several of these resist both frost and summer heat, such as sweet william carnation and China pink hybrids.

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