Carnations
Carnations are the plants of the gods. You see, the Greek word Di means ‘of Zeus or Jove’ and anthus means ‘flower’ giving us dianthus – the horticultural name for this plant.
And while it may be a plant of the Gods, it is also a plant of great folklore. Another common name - “Sweet William” - comes to us from the Latin ocellus or ‘eye’ referring to the lighter color patch in the middle of the flower. The Latin became oeillet in French and was corrupted and slurred by the English to willy – then to William. The Sweet part come from the fragrance or perhaps from an old ballad named “ Fair Margaret and Sweet William” from the 1700’s when the plant was first grown in gardens.
Pink as a name is less clear than even the Sweet William name. One author suggests that the word “pink” meant eye in Dutch but there is no apparent word in that language. There is also confused references to a season called pinksten (in German) which was apparently when one of the family members bloomed. For all I know, the flower color is predominately pink so perhaps that’s the origin of the name.
And if you thought the preceding two were interesting, try this:
Worn of paramours”
Spenser, “Shepherd’s Calendar”
Coronations were chaplets or decorative, woven flower strings worn on the head like a headband that are often pictured as being worn by young maidens. Coronae the Latin word for ‘coronations’ gave us carnations – the flowers that were used in the chaplets.
Had enough? :-)
Cultural Details
Height: 4 to 24 inches
Sun needed: Full to light shade
Bloom color: Reds, pinks, whites
Bloom time: Early to mid summer until late summer
Planting space apart: 12 inches
Soil preferred: Light, well-drained
Propagation method: Seed, cuttings
Recommended carnations varieties and description
D. barbatus Known as Sweet William, this is a biennial plant that sometimes behaves as a short lived perennial. At 18 to 24 inches tall, it blooms in a wide range of fragrant colored blossoms and as such has been a garden favorite for over 300 years. Start it from seed, either directly sown or into individual pots and transplanted to where they should bloom. Self sown seedlings will ensure the garden will never lack for fragrant blooms.
D. caryophyllus is the wild plant that is the ancestor of most of the modern garden carnations. When you see a perennial carnation in your local garden centre, it is most often this species.
D. chinensis varieties are often sold in garden centers as perennials but they have never been reliably hardy for me. Treat these as hardy annuals and you’ll be much better off unless you live in a warm zone 6 or 7.
D. deltoides is a common plant in garden centers because of the ease of starting it from seed. Use it in the rock garden because it grows quite low to the ground and would be eaten up by taller border perennials. A common variety is ‘Tiny Rubies’ in a bright red.
D. grataniapolitensis or Cheddar Pink grows to 12 inches and is a delightfully fragrant soft pink color. One of my favourites.
D. knappii is called the Yellow Pink if you can picture those contrasting colours. At 24 inches tall with soft yellow flowers that bloom for several long weeks, it is worth a place in the garden. It usually only lives 3 to 4 years for me before it fades away over the winter and I have to replace it with a new seed generated plant.
D. plumarius is the plant most often referred to as a ‘Pink” and is a good performing plant. They are shorter than many carnation type Dianthus so plant them in rock garden sites or protected from aggressive plants in the border. ‘Oakington’ at 4 inches tall by 10 inches wide with soft pink blooms is a desirable variety to grow. Do deadhead it regularly to encourage extra blooms. This makes an excellent rock garden or container plant as well as a border plant.
D. hybrids There are simply too many of these to list them all and these are mostly the Carnation types. Unfortunately, these types are not commonly available in North America.
‘Grenadin’ types are commonly found in garden centers because they are easy to grow from seed but they are not reliably hardy varieties here in zone 4.
‘Double Rainbow Blend’ is a simple seed blend that usually gives at least a few good colors and sturdy plants. It is commonly available from seed catalogs.
Do note that growing carnations in clay soils is a good way to kill them. They do not grow well in damp soils or soils that hold their moisture over the winter. They’ll rot right off in these conditions.
Do you have a question about Carnations?