Currently blooming for a limited time here in Tennessee are two showy plants from the same family, Pinks and Sweet Williams. Dianthus is a large genus with over 300 species and literally thousands of cultivars. “Pinks” are hardy perennials that are easy to grow in full sun with well-drained soil. I have had them growing in a formal bed for years but in the last three years they have been shaded by a holly and are not getting enough sunlight. My Pinks are dianthus gratianopolitanus, they come in all shades of pink but they do not get their name from the color. The name comes from the fringed or ragged edge of the petals, which appears to have been trimmed with pinking shears.
Blooms can also be white, maroon, and red. They can be single, semi double, or fully double. These plants are generally low growing and mound shaped. The foliage is evergreen with grass like blades of blue, or gray-green color. Bloom time is late April into summer. They make an attractive edging plant for beds and borders. If you need a specific color for your garden, it is best to buy plants that have been propagated by division, cuttings or layering. Dianthus tends to die out in the center and need dividing every 2 to 3 years to keep them attractive and vigorous.
This is a spicy scented flower and in a large grouping it provides for a sweet-smelling garden in late afternoon and early morning.
You should remove spent blooms or shear back plants after the main flush of flowers to encourage continued blooming. These beautiful mounds need little care to look their best. They would like a spring feeding high in phosphorus (bone meal) or an annual dose of wood ashes helps to keep the soil slightly acid (ph 6.5). With the way this year has started we are lucky that this plant is heat tolerant.
Sweet William is a sister plant, Dianthus barbatus, it is another old-fashioned flower.
Popular in cottage gardens for hundreds of years this short-lived perennial is commonly grown as a biennial. Biennial means that they set plants one year and bloom the next. These plants are prolific self-sowers.
I have had a spot of Sweet Williams in my bed for 10 years and have always had plenty of blooms in May. This species of dianthus aren’t fragrant at all. They have strong stout stems with glossy, dark green leaves. The flowers are showy flat-topped clusters and can grow two-feet-tall. Colors are red, pink, white, multi-color, and fuchsia. They make excellent cut flowers.
My sister-in-law who lives in Kahite has Sweet William growing in a wooden barrel. The deer in her neighborhood think they taste delicious. This forced her to jail her Sweet Williams on her deck. This year she said they had never been prettier. Her mother gave her the starter plants 15 years ago. Even though they have sissy little names Pinks and Sweet Williams are tough plants.
