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Re: Cultivation of the genus Dianthus

Date:Tue, 24 Sep 1996 00:32:48 +0000
       From: "Rand B. Lee" <randbear@NETS.COM>
   


Because so many folks have asked me, here are some quick and dirty
dianthus
growing guidelines:

SITING: Full sun or full morning sun. All pinks and carnations,
particularly sweet Williams
(Dianthus barbatus), China pinks (Dianthus chinensis), Deptford pinks
(Dianthus
armeria), and maiden pinks (Dianthus deltoides) may prefer part shade in
hot dry
summer climates.
SOIL:  What kills dianthuses far more than winter cold is lack of oxygen
in the soil due
to compaction, heavy clay, or standing water. Consequently, choose a
well-drained
site for your dianthuses. I garden on heavy clay, so I dig down about 10
inches to a
foot, take out the soil, mix the removed soil with well-rotted compost
and sand or
coarse gravel, and backfill, mixing thoroughly. If your soil is acidic,
dust the mixture
with horticultural lime at about the amount recommended for broccoli;
dianthuses
can tolerate acidic soils but many species are native to limestone
cliffs and seem to
prefer their soils neutral to alkaline. The most important thing,
however, is getting
the drainage right.
FERTILIZER: Because many dianthuses "bloom themselves to death" in a
year or two if
unfed, I dig into my beds at planting time (and each spring thereafter)
a low-nitrogen,
high phosphorus fertilizer (such as 5-10-5) at the rate of about a
tablespoon per
plant.
MULCH: Never mulch dianthuses with organic matter; this practice
encourages
crown rot, a fungus disease fatal to the genus. If you must mulch around
your plants,
do so with sand, gravel, or crushed rock.
WINTER CARE: If you live in a high-wind area, or in a climate where
winters drop
consistently below 10:F,  loosely pile evergreen boughs over your
dianthus beds in
the winter to insulate the plants from wind chill. Remove them in spring
after hard
frost leaves the ground.

Anybody interested in learning more about this wonderful genus is
welcome to write
or email me for free info in care of The American Dianthus Society. I'll
send you our
brochure and, if you send me a 52" stamp, a sample issue of our
quarterly
publication, The Gilliflower Times.
Rand Lee, 1306 Lujan Street, Santa Fe NM 87505-3220 USA
Telephone: (505-438-7038).
Email: randbear@nets.com
President and Founder, American Dianthus Society
(http://www.nhn.uoknor.edu/%7Ehoward/ads.html)
Editor, American Cottage Gardener ( http://trine.com/GardenNet/ACG/)

"Who would look dangerously up at Planets [who] might
safely look downe at Plants?" --- John Gerard, 1597


-- 
Duncan McAlpine, Federal Way, WA
Why buy plants when you can grow them yourself.....?
http://www.eskimo.com/~mcalpin/
http://www.eskimo.com/~mcalpin/pumkin.html
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