Carnation or Clove Pink (Border Carnation, Florist’s Carnation, Pink)
Dianthus caryophyllus. CARYOPHYLLACEAE.
Planting and Growing Carnation or Clove Pink
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow carnation or clove pink in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of carnation or clove pink
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for carnation or clove pink
- Season of bloom and planting time for carnation or clove pink
- When, how deep, and where to plant carnation or clove pink
- How to plant carnation or clove pink
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of carnation or clove pink
- Landscape and container uses of carnation or clove pink
- Comments about carnation or clove pink and its features
Growing Carnation or Clove Pink
Many cultivars and hybrids of either compact and low or bushy and erect, semi-evergreen perennial herbs, to 1 ft. (30 cm) tall, 12–15 in. (30–38 cm) wide. Shiny, mostly gray green, narrow, grasslike evergreen leaves, to 2 in. (50 mm) long.
See also Cottage Pink, Dianthus X allwoodii hybrids, a large group of closely related perennials. Two other closely related annual plants are Pink, Dianthus chinensis, and Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus. All three relatives have similar care needs.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, pink, rose, white, occasionally yellow, bicolored, lacy, fragrant flowers, 1–1-1/2-in. (25–38-mm) wide, in spring–summer.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 4–10.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained, sandy soil. Fertility: Rich. 7.0–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun, 12–15 in. (30–38 cm) apart, after frost hazard has passed.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Mulch lightly to protect from cold, zones 4–6. Propagate by cuttings, division, layering, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, borders, containers, edgings, foregrounds in cottage, formal, wildlife gardens. Good for cutting. Attracts birds, butterflies, hummingbirds. Rust, fusarium wilt susceptible.