Dianthus

Family Caryophyllaceae. A representative of the Caryophyllaceae (Caryophylceae). Distributed in the northern temperate zone, in the southern temperate zone, as well as in the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Better known as the carnation.

Dianthus is an annual or perennial herbaceous or semi-shrub plant up to 100 cm tall. Stem erect or ascending at the base, simple or branched, up to 70 cm tall. Leaves linear or lanceolate-linear. Flowers solitary or gathered in dense head-like or corymbose inflorescences, clusters at the tips of stems and branches, semi-umbels of 2–3. Petals pink, purple, white or yellowish-green, fringed or laciniated along the upper edge. Fruit is an elongated one-chambered capsule that opens with 4 teeth. Seeds black, shield-shaped, sometimes almost round, elliptical or elongated, numerous.

The plant requires cool conditions, bright light with shading from direct sunlight, abundant watering and spraying in warm weather.

Dianthus barbatus, or Turkish carnation (D. barbatus), is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 60 cm tall. Stems erect, numerous. Leaves green or green with a reddish tint, lanceolate, opposite. Flowers fragrant, single or double, red, pink, white, cream, variegated or with an eye and edge. Flowering period is from May to July.

Dutch carnation (D. caryophyllus) is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 100 cm tall. Leaves glaucous-green, narrow. Flowers up to 8 cm in diameter, double, white, pink, yellow, bright red, burgundy, solid-colored or variegated with stripes, spots and splashes.

Chinese dianthus (D. chinensis) is a perennial herbaceous plant. It forms tufts. Leaves wide or narrow, acute, flat or slightly channeled. Flowers up to 3 cm in diameter, fragrant, solitary, pink or lilac. Flowering period is from June to September.

Location: Carnations prefer a sunny location. Young and adult plants that have not hardened and plants in bloom are very sensitive to winter thaws. For planting valuable and rare cultivars it is desirable to create raised beds.

Soil: They require fertile, non-acid, loamy garden soil. They do not tolerate overwatering and especially stagnant water.

Care: A serious danger for carnations comes in early spring when the temperature changes sharply within 24 hours: warm sun by day and freezing at night. Therefore, non-hardy cultivars are covered in autumn with conifer boughs so that the branches form a canopy over the plants. The cover is removed after regular frosts have ceased. Cultivar carnations respond very well to fertilizing and the addition of humus (do not use fresh manure). Spent stems of all carnations are cut 10–15 cm above the soil surface. Then a complete mineral fertilizer is applied, plants are watered and the soil loosened. New shoots usually appear in about a month, and in autumn some species begin a second flowering.

Diseases and pests: rust, leaf spots, viruses, nematodes, thrips - see photos.

Propagation: by seed, less often by cuttings and layering. Seeds are sown in May in open ground or in boxes under greenhouse conditions in January–March. Seeds germinate in 10–14 days. Biennial carnations are sown in June. Seedlings are pricked out at the stage of two to three pairs of true leaves. Plants are set in their permanent place in early May or in August–September, keeping 25–30 cm between plants. Seeds of the Shabo carnation are sown in January–February in a greenhouse; seedlings are pricked into boxes. In March–April they are moved to cold frames, with planting in the permanent place in May. In cultivation they easily cross and produce hybrids that are sometimes hard to identify. Some carnations can be propagated by layering, for example D. barbatus. Shabo carnations can be propagated by cuttings in clean sand or perlite in February–March at 10–13°C. Mother plants are kept in a cold greenhouse. Carnations are also propagated by dividing the clump (especially spreading species). Vegetative propagation is the only way to preserve unique forms. Fast-growing species are planted at 35×35 cm spacing; others at 15×20 cm.

Uses: Carnations make effective borders, are used in variegated flower beds and rock gardens. They can serve as groundcover plants and replace a lawn, grow on retaining walls and between paving slabs, and edge steps. During flowering all carnations form bright color patches. A monochrome duet also looks attractive, for example the grass pink and the blood-red geranium.

The name "bearded" comes from the presence on each flower of bracts fringed along the edge.

Native to Central Europe. A perennial herbaceous plant often grown as a biennial. Stems straight, strong, knobby, numerous, 40–60 cm tall. Leaves sessile, lanceolate, glabrous, green or with a reddish tint, arranged oppositely. Flowers numerous, single or double, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, white, cream, pink, red of various shades, often variegated, with an eye and edge, velvety, fragrant, in numerous corymbose inflorescences 8–12 cm across. Flowers for about a month from late June in the second year after sowing; in the year of sowing it forms only a rosette of leaves. Fruit is a capsule. Seeds flat, black, set well, ripen in July–August, retain viability for 3–5 years. There may be up to 1000 seeds per 1 g. Cultivated since 1573. Widely used in landscaping and for cutting. Unlike other species of carnation, it is not demanding of light, can grow in partial shade, and is cold- and frost-tolerant.

Most common cultivars:

'Wcisc Riesen' ('Wcisc Riesen') - Plants 45–50 cm tall. Leaves and shoots green. Flowers white, 2–2.5 cm in diameter, petals smooth at the edges, gathered in inflorescences up to 12 cm across.

'Diadem' ('Diadem') - Plants up to 45 cm tall. Shoots dark green with a red tint, nodes dark red. Leaves dark green with a reddish tint. Flowers dark carmine with a large white eye, 1.7–2 cm in diameter. Petals toothed along the edge. Inflorescences up to 10 cm across.

'Kupferrot' ('Kupfcnot') - Plants 45–50 cm tall. Shoots and leaves dark green. Flowers copper-red, 1.7–2.2 cm in diameter. Petals with a toothed edge. Inflorescences 9–10 cm across.

'Scarlet Beauty' ('Scarlet Beauty') - Plants 40–45 cm tall. Shoots and leaves green. Flowers bright red, 2–2.3 cm in diameter. Petals with a toothed edge. Inflorescences 10–11 cm across.

'Heimatland' ('Heimatland') - Plants 45–50 cm tall. Shoots dark green with a dark red tint. Leaves dark green, reddish. Flowers dark red with a strongly pronounced eye, up to 2 cm in diameter. Petals deeply toothed along the edge. Inflorescences up to 12 cm across.

'Schneeball' ('Schneeeball') - Plants up to 40 cm tall. Shoots and leaves green. Flowers double, white. Petals with a toothed edge. Inflorescences up to 11 cm across.

Native presumably to the Mediterranean. The plant is perennial. It has two widely cultivated garden varieties often considered separate species:

Garden carnation grenadin - D. c. var. grenadin hort.

A perennial herbaceous plant cultivated as a biennial. Plants well developed, 40–60 cm tall. Stems straight, thin, jointed, leafy. Leaves narrow-linear, basal leaves collected at the base of the clump in a rosette. Leaves and stems covered with a silvery-glaucous bloom. Flowers single or double, located at the ends of shoots in several, red, pink, white, yellow, variegated, sometimes with an edge, fragrant. Flowers in the second year after sowing from June to August. A well-developed bush can have up to 200 flowers. Long cultivated and very popular.

Examples of cultivars:

'Gloria' ('Gloria') - Plants 50–60 cm tall. Flowers red, double and semi-double, up to 5 cm in diameter.

'Rosakenigin' ('Rosakenigin') - Plants 45–55 cm tall. Flowers dark and bright pink, double and semi-double, up to 4.5 cm in diameter.

'Feuerkenig' ('Feuerkenig') - Plants 40–45 cm tall. Flowers fiery red, double and semi-double, up to 5 cm in diameter.

Propagation: generally by seed. Seeds of carnations are of medium size (about 600 per 1 g in grenadin and 950 per 1 g in Turkish carnation), and retain germination for at least 4 years. They are sown on a seedbed in rows 15 cm apart, with 1–2 cm between seeds in the row, at a depth of 1 cm. Sown areas are pressed down, sprayed and covered with nonwoven covering material. Care is taken to prevent the sowing from drying out. Seedlings appear in 8–10 days. The covering material is not removed but only loosened so that the seedlings do not become deformed. After 3 weeks the seedlings are pricked out to 6 cm spacing in the row, 15 cm between rows. Plants are again covered with covering material or shaded from direct sun with shade cloths until the seedlings take root and stop wilting. Since the pricking out of seedlings falls on the hottest part of the summer, it is better to perform this early in the morning or after 6 p.m., or choose a cool cloudy day for it.