Pudge, why are you not wintersowing them? I have had great success with all kinds of Dianthus species. Save your indoor space for your tender annuals, seriously ;)

Sharon

Heres what I wintersowed last year...
Dianthus amurensis april 4/05 april 16/05
Dianthus anatolicus april 4/05 april 16/05
Dianthus barbatus Garden Mix april 4/05 april 16/05
Dianthus deltoides ÂArtic Fire april 7/05 april 19/05
Dianthus deltoides 'Zing Rose' april 4/05 april 17/05

In 2004 I sowed these, but didn't pay attention to germination dates, however they did germinated.
Dianthus deltoides ÂFlashing Lights april 16/04
Dianthus speciosa 'Rainbow Loveliness' april 16/04

This year I will be wintersowin....
Dianthus barbatus ÂSootyÂ
Dianthus deltoides ÂConfetti Deep Red (seeds from you!)

Sharon

How did that D. anatolicus turn out for you? Any blooms? It looks nice in the google images - I'll have to keep that one in mind.

I don't WS much, Sharon - only those that definitely require cold treatment first (and often that's in the fridge, but not this year, LOL). I just like bigger plants earlier (patience not one of my strong points) - by early May I'm hardening off good sized plants, and planting out by mid-May (perennials, that is).

Yes thatÂs true Pudge about wintersowing perennials or annuals, they are small compared to indoor or nursery stock, although they really do take off once planted in the ground! I really donÂt consider thereÂs a big difference IME with WSÂd or ISÂing Perennials per flowering their first year, besides, either method, most newly planted perennials donÂt really put on a good show until their second/third year.

D. anatolicus did have some blooms their first year, but I suspect theyÂll put on a grand show this year ;)

Sharon

Here's D. arenarius, this wasn't WS'd thou ;)

Sharon

I just WSed arenarius this year, and now that i've seen your picture, Sharon, i'm really looking forward to seeing it in bloom!

As for other dianthus, hmmmm, i have D. deltoides Alba, Flashing Lights, Arctic Fire, and Micro Chips. And an unknown 5 year old annual. :) I also have D. barbatus Sooty, and last year i WSed Crimsonia and, hmmmm, a yellow one whose name escapes me. Neither of those has bloomed yet.

I love dianthus - it forms a nice moundy plant and the flowers are so delicate-looking. Plus, they smell nice! Sow, sow, sow, Pudge!

No, Pudge, of the more than 300 species of dianthus, the seven you mentioned, and the hybrid added by Sharon, are really the only ones worth growing. We can pretty much write that genus off now.

Hey, I'm kidding!!! (Guess I should stick a few hundred smiley faces and happy little emoticons in here to make that clear, LOL!)

I actually haven't paid a lot of attention to dianthus myself either, since, when we moved in here, the only existing border contained a great many varieties of dianthus planted by the former lady of the house...which, to be honest, I've certainly enjoyed... but haven't even felt compelled to rigorously identify.

But, to suggest a few more that one might find worth growing (if you can stand reading this yet again):

Dianthus monspessulanus - a sinlge mauve-flowered species that forms a mat a few inches tall; mine's getting to be 3' across. Attractive, but the amazing thing about it is the fragrance - wonderful and wafting, and strangely not a spice fragrance, but a sweet perfume! Very unusual for a dianthus. (I know you don't post here, but if you drop in occasionally, thank you for the seeds, Sherrie! One of the best trades I've ever gotten!)
As I've mentioned ad infinitum on this forum, an excellent substitute for carnations (D. caryophyllus, which I've found are not happy here and dwindle over 2-3 years) is the cultivar and possible hybrid, Dianthus 'Mrs. Sinkins', a very old variety (1868, apparently). It entirely fits the bill for carnations, but by contrast, is happy, vigorous, and hardy - it otherwise has the same blue foliage and habit, and double flowers that flop, etc.. The fragrance is incredible - strong cinnamon/cloves!

Dianthus simulans is another nice little rock-garden type (which, I'm guessing, would probably describe about 280 of the over 300 species, LOL!) As are D. alpina,D. freyneii and D. gratianopolitanus 'Sternkissen' (you've already mentioned the latter), which we have in troughs. It's very pretty when the dianthus bloom coincides with the shower of pink petals falling from the 'Royalty' crab.

I'm always intrigued by D. knappii, the only yellow-flowered dianthus -have grown them before (they're short-lived), and started more last year again.

It will very interesting to hear, later on, which of the ones you've started are hardy there!

Thank you, Lori - knappii - that was it!

D. amurensis is the very late blooming variety, and interesting for that - again mauve-ish, but unfortunately not scented. I and I think someone else posted pix of it a while back, when it was blooming in late August or so.

I could be wrong, but i thought i saw a blue one advertised somewhere. Anyone else see that?

Marcia,
I think I've seen that also - are you thinking of a selection of D. amurensis called 'Siberian Blue' (or something like that?) It would certainly be unique for a dianthus if it really is blue.

Yes, that's it. I imagine it would be more of a pinky purple than blue, though.

I WS'd a Dianthus 'Zing Salmon' last year that bloomed by August. Its almost a red colour actually, but really pretty.

I also have a really dark fuschia pink one (Cheddar Pink maybe?) that was given to me as a division but it has happily spread all over my garden now!

I did look at the seed package of 'Siberian Blue' and just about laughed because it really did look pink on the picture! I didn't end up buying them because I was sure they wouldn't end up being a true blue.

Thanks for the photo, Sharon - I'll be looking forward to this plant in my yard, too.

Thanks for the info, Lori. Knowing if something is short lived or floppy or fragrant or non-descript, worth growing or not worth it helps in determining what to order and try.

Of course, I really should wait and see what the 'rock garden mix' holds before I order more. (I think a fair share are D. deltoides, but I do recall there being some plants that did not look the same and did not bloom last year).

In the meantime, I've got plenty of baby Dianthus sprouts from the Clusterhead Pink currently under the grow lights, and some germination going on in the other trays as well.

Lori, is there any Dianthus in particular that you would question winter survival for me? To be honest, I was just assuming all would be hardy.

Pudge, I've never managed to kill a dianthus here (other than the lingering deaths of carnations over 2-3 years ....for which I do not feel personally responsible, LOL!), but Calgary is a little warmer than there, so my guess is that you may be breaking some new ground with some of those species. I'd be very surprised if the more common types like D. deltoides and D. gratianopolitanus didn't overwinter, but who knows? I would certainly have high hopes for all. Re. the alpine-ish types...I'm assuming you probably have those in your rock garden, where the good drainage will protect them from any standing water in spring, so...only time will tell, I guess.

Last year I had 3 Dianthus. I had Raspberry Parfait, Ruby's Tuesday, and I was SUPPOSED to have Fancy Knickers, but I think I got Rosey Cheeks. They were easy for me! My Parfait kept blooming from the time I planted them pretty much until frost. Just wonderful! And the other 2 were pretty hardy when it came to the cooler weather. Just sweet :) I kept them in the ground just to see if they'll come back or not. Only Spring will tell. Seeings how our winters are getting warmer, just have to experiment is all :)

Nikki~

I'm just wondering, have any of you in the colder climates had luck with the dianthus returning the following year? (without overwintering them indoors) If you did, did you mulch them or just leave them be? I'm still new at all the gardening stuff, I just thought I'd ask while I remembered.

The ones I mentioned in my prior post is all I've planted (but I'm SURE I'll get more this year...I just LOVED them!)

Nikki~

If you read the preceding posts, you'll come away with a pretty good idea of many that are likely to be hardy in your zone. Even dianthus that are sold as "annuals" or bedding-out plants are often actually hardy species.

The only downside might be if the varieties you chose are actual annuals, that would normally only return by seed (i.e. that is, not perennial by nature). You could google your varieties and find that out. (I don't pay much attention to the different color forms of plants so I could only speculate about the ones you've listed... chances are other people here have grown them though, and can relate their experiences.)

I've have D. chinensis Raspberry Parfait, Telstar Pink, Telstar Purple, and Cherry Corona for years. They can be short-lived, so I try to divide them frequently to see if that will keep them going longer, but they are definitely winter hardy for me. I don't do a thing to protect them.

Sharon

Nikki,

Yes Dianthus will return for us here. I have had the annual last for 3 and 4 years...plus they seed themselves all over the place. I bought a new pack of seed this year that I plan on planting out later, package says annual but won't flower till second year. LOL.

I have also started several perennial types in previous years and they do just fine here as well.

I started some strawberry parfait seed indoors, this year that someone I used to know gave me about 4 or 5 years ago. The seed started just fine.

Haven't run into a dianthus yet that won't grow or self-seed here.

Sierra

That's great to hear! I really do enjoy the plants! Being new and all, selection is all trial and error for me. Buy now ask questions later lol

Now I get to keep an eye on the little buggers to see if life will come to! ;)

Nikki~