Pinks: Petite and Prolific

The genus offers fragrance and a profusion of blooms for many garden settings

I ’ve always been taken with the many romantic name for members of the genus Dianthus . Evocative nickname admit maid pinks , cottage pinks , scented Williams , cheddar cheese pinks , and Scotch pink . Trying to separate them out , though , is another story .

Having grown many different industrial plant from this genus in my garden in Kitchener , Ontario , I ’ve start to brush off the rough-cut public figure — as much as I wish them — and instead think about them from a purely practical horticulture point of view . For me , a simple key to choosing individual pinks is to know which garden use suits them best .

Dianthus spp. and cvs.

Rock garden dwellers invite up-close viewing

Many of the pink befit to rock ‘n’ roll gardens are so petite they would get lost in most other gardens . An excellent rock - garden choice is cheddar pink ( D. gratianopolitanusand cultivar . , USDA Hardiness zone 4 to 9 ) , which produces little tufts of matting - shape blue - hoar leaves from 3 to 8 inches high and sports wan - pink flush in other summer .

Alpine garden pink ( D. alpinusand cultivars , Zones 3 to 7 ) produce clusters of beautiful , serrate , unmarried blooms in inscrutable pink to dark ruby that sit just off the ground , staring up at a viewer . Unfortunately , these summertime bloomer are among the few Dianthus plants that are not fragrant , but do n’t permit that stop you from produce them .

rock and roll garden garden pink are often grown from ejaculate because they are not widely uncommitted as plants . If you are lucky enough to obtain seeds , perhaps from a rock garden club or a strength nursery , barely cover them in a well - drained grow mass medium , keep them at 60 to 70F , and they should sprout in two to three weeks .

Low-growing pinks need a front-of-the-border spot

democratic maiden over pinks ( D. deltoidesand cultivars , Zones 3 to 9 ) are low - grow but rather too fertile and exuberant for most rock gardens . alternatively , use these to create a low - lying swarm of semblance at the front of a perimeter or on a gentle slope . Having been hybridize for one C , they amount in many attractive colouring . Most are a undivided color , usually white , red , or blue pink , but some are bicolored . One of my favorites is ‘ Arctic Fire ’ , which is white with a cerise - red center .

Since they germinate easily , maiden pinks are best produce from semen . Indoors , start them a few weeks before the last frost . Outdoors , sow them in former outpouring . Maiden garden pink are repeated but incline to be curtly - lived , specially in less - than - ideal conditions . However , in full sun and well - drained grime , they will ego - sow and go on to produce larger glob each twelvemonth . In such conditions , they become low - maintenance plants that just need to be kept in check mark by divide them .

Another popular pink ideal for the front of a border isD. gratianopolitanus‘Bath ’s Pink ’ . This cultivar is more substantial and floriferous than the species , which is best suited to rock gardens .

yearly pinks ( D. chinensiscultivars ) also tend to be rather short — up to about 6 inches — so they too work well in the front of a mete . Also known as Chinese pinks , they are easy to uprise from semen and should be started indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost . That ’s a long prison term to carry over a plant if , like me , you do n’t have a greenhouse . That ’s why I usually just buy them as plant at a local nursery .

Usually deep fringed , they are alas not perfume . Like other annual , their attraction is that they bloom longer than the perennial and biennial pinks . The flower are usually individual and rather large , with beautiful marking . In recent years , the most popular varieties have been ‘ Strawberry Parfait ’ and ‘ Raspberry Parfait ’ , showy Fleuroselect medal succeeder . I also wish ‘ idealistic Crimson ’ . It has smaller flowers and rich shiny - red blooming that appeal to humans and hummingbirds alike .

One low - grow pink to nullify is the aggressive Deptford pink ( D. armeria ) . I still find an occasional seedling of this biennial in my garden , even though I ’ve carefully removed every one I ’ve base for the last five years .

Border pinks bloom profusely and smell good

Many Dianthus cultivar are normally call border pinks , and for good grounds : That ’s where they look best . Whereas maiden garden pink make a low rug of color , border pinks produce with child , high-pitched clumps that disappear under a richness of bloom in late spring . In a well - drained , sunny spot , they are long - know , but unless they are keep on a skimpy dieting , they can be floppy and call for staking .

This group of perennials is often subdivided into old - fashioned borderline pink , which were stick in before 1920 , and modern delimitation pinks . The previous - fashioned pinks are mostly tuft - forming and acquire to about 18 in high-pitched . Modern border pinks are often hybrids ofD. plumariusandD. caryophyllusand grow from 6 to 24 inches gamey . Since the clumps tend to be realizable , the plant life do not commonly need to be divided as they maturate . However , it ’s well-situated to divide them if you would like to increase your gillyflower , since border pinks do not loosely self - sow .

edge garden pink are much more fragrant than maid pinks ; in fact , many edge pinks are among the most powerfully perfume of the genus . For many year , I grew ‘ Mrs. Sinkins ’ ( Zones 5 to 9 ) , a double , absolutely white Victorian miscellanea that has a peculiarly stiff , wonderful perfume . However , with blooms almost as big as a florist carnation , it had to be staked . There is also a pinkish variety , ‘ Pink Mrs. Sinkins ’ .

Many molding pinks are wide available , so if you involve just a few industrial plant , it ’s often most virtual to buy them “ ready - made . ” A popular variety call ‘ Spring Beauty ’ ( geographical zone 3 to 9 ) is uncommitted as both plants and seed . Seeds are easy to start following the book of instructions on the packet . In some event , such as with a hybrid intermixture , you get some individual and some two-fold in alter shades of pinkish , lily-white , and red .

The biennial cherubic Williams ( D. barbatusand cultivars , Zones 3 to 9 ) also make full border plants . These charmers have been popular for hundred . I subsist in a place where some homesteads have long been repossess by forest . you’re able to imagine where the houses once stood by the patches of weak - looking sweet Williams that still survive among the tree . This is another type ofDianthusthat looks lovely set in impetus .

Single- or doubly - flowered , sweet-smelling Williams change in height from about 6 to 24 inches . consort to 17th - hundred herbalist John Gerard , their best utilization is “ to decke up the bosomes of the beautiful . ” But if all you have in thinker is assay to recreate a Victorian garden , take a tall , dual - flowering variety . Sweet Williams can be bought as plants , but in my experience they look advantageously uprise from cum . Having been “ abide ” and acclimatise in your own garden , they look more established come bloom time .

Sweet Williams can be seeded one year to bloom the next . To have some every year , you will need to sow them every spring directly in the garden . Some gardener think they have a perennial variety , but it is the plant ego - seed each year . Even if yours does so , it might be a good idea to buy new seeds every now and then , since a come mix will likely revert after a few years from a wonderful blend of colors to a basic pink or dark red . The size of the blush also will fall over clip . In gain to the fantastic mixes uncommitted , seraphic William seeds are also available in undivided colour .

Last spring , in a crunch , I raided a fertile drift of my sweet Williams . A day before a tour of my garden , I transferred a few clumps of a mauve - flecked white kind into attractive pot where they brightened up a dull niche for the big day and a few weeks thereafter . Then they produced a lot of source , which I inseminate right off . In the fall , I had some overnice ball quick to bloom the following spring .

Pinks are not fussy, but they do hate being too wet

Although theDianthusspecies and cultivar grown in gardens are commonly shout “ pink , ” the palette of peak of the genusDianthusranges from pure white to dark raspberry - bolshie . D. amurensis‘Siberian Blue ’ ( zona 3 to 7 ) is an attractive lilac - tinted pinko that only hints at being blue . The one existent exception isD. knappii(Zones 3 to 9 ) , a yellow curiosity . I find it too long-shanked and weak - kneed to be utilitarian in my garden .

ll Dianthus plant are sun devotee and prefer median , well - drained filth . They appreciate a bit of hoummos in the top dirt layer , but they will not live long in a moist , highly fertile muck . Do not use mulch around pink because their crowns tend to rot beneath it .

Grown in status they like , pinks are ordinarily disease - devoid . The major pest problem is mice and voles , which often nibble at pinks under the nose candy in winter . One way to stave off this fate is to put mouse decoy under a covered trap with a small curtain raising and place the maw in a bed near dormant pinks .

Pinks generally blossom profusely . In early summertime , it ’s often surd to see the foliage because the plant is completely covered with flowers . Their floral prodigality tends to exhaustDianthusplants , making them short - lived ; cutting them back can extend their spirit span . Perennial pinks should be trim back by as much as half the foliage height after they ’ve end blooming . Immediately after trimming , they wo n’t look great but will presently mail away a new clump of fresh leaf that might rebloom after in the season .

Whichever types ofDianthusyou choose to grow , I can promise you that you will find them as charming as their common name advise .

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Dense clumps of maiden pinks form a low-growing swath of magenta.

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