Need dianthus for a very sunny bed

There are so many different kinds of dianthus and I need a really hardy one. Perennial if possible. Got any suggestions?

"Firewitch" got some kind of award afew years back. I have some in a sunny bed and it is very nice. It needs the sun and doesn't like to be shaded by another plant.

Thanks Banana. I'll try to find it. I'm going to try and look tomorrow here in town and maybe Fri in San Antonio.

Home Depot in the Dallas area has Firewitch. Nice, healthy looking plants. I picked one up last night without knowing much about it, just because I liked the appearance. I looked it up after getting home, and discovered it was a very nice plant for this area. I'm thinking I'll go back and get four or five more for one of my borders.

I'm glad you asked this, Silver. I've been wanting dianthus as well. There were so many seed selections this Spring that I got overwhelmed and didn't order any at all. lol I'll check HD soon, I like the firewitch.

I remember LazyS's plant farm had good detailed info about them too. There seems to be two way to plant them 1) hardy heat resistant species 2) less heat tolerant but rampant reseeders ,like old fashion cheddar pinks.

I got a "Spooky" dianthus (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/85033/) from Ampy at the first College Station round up two years ago and it hasn't stopped blooming!

lol. Love that name, I could plant some with the Salvia Transylvanica

LOL That would be perfect!

For one with an intense fragrance, try Fenbow Nutmeg Clove:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/104862/

Fenbow Estate it was found on in the UK documents it going back over 300 years. It was both candied and used to flavor wine ("sops in wine").

Wow, thanks for that link. Those red blooms against silver foliage is stunning! Are the seeds easy to collect? Is it the blooms that are candied? i'd like to try that.

cocoa_lulu....yes, the blossoms were candied in the middle ages (and perhaps latter). I collected a few seeds but think I got them too green. Thompson & Morgan, the only vendor, says this about seeds:

"....T&M offers a selected seed strain producing a high % true to type."

T&M owns the rights to vegetative propagation.

The fragrance is outstanding. You could smell those few blossoms in the photo I liked to from a few feet away. Won't matter in most of Texas but here in Connecticut the foliage has stayed that nice blue/silver color even in the snow.

The seeds are pricey but of the 20 T&M sent, I got 20 plants. While I did not get many blossoms last summer (the first year) the plants were lush. In Texas I think it would be an outstanding cultivar. Unusual too. After buying the first pack of seeds last March, I re-ordered and T&M had sold out. Looked around for live plants and the only ones I saw were in the UK--at about twenty bucks each.

This message was edited Feb 21, 2008 9:10 PM

Woderful news, I hate it when I can't find seeds on a plant especially if their expensive seeds.lol I just looked at the TM website and they have them in stock again...I feel another seed order coming on. Thank you for the info!

Well I didn't get to look today and won't get to tomorrow either. But I'm going to put these on my list. I never know which kind I'll find when I finally do get to look. I bought a silverish colored dianthus once at Schumachers nursery in New Braunfels. It was really a neat plant because the flowers smelled like baby powder. But it didn't come back after the 3rd year.:( Thanks for all the suggestions.:)

I can try to propagate one for you if you want Firewitch.

I also have 'firewitch' and it has done preety good. I have some 'Devon Siskin' Rasberry Swirl that are also doing good, but the best ones I have right now are some Cottage Pinks that reseed well and smell delicious. They've handled both the summer and winter with great moxy and hardly ever have even the slightest blemish. Here is a pic of my cottage pinks.

What beauties, TJ! I planted Cottage Pinks this past summer, and they bloomed "okay" for their first year. I love their uniform, bunched shape and am looking for even better results this summer.

Carla

Yes, Carla, I remember we discussed these a little bit in another thread somewhere. I like how the foliage has remained almost flawless through the heat and cold. Are yours the same way? I also can't wait to see how they do in their 2nd year. Have you collected any seed from yours? I have 2 starts from seeds I got off mine. So, hopefully I can share them at the next swap.

Yes, the foliage has stayed that lovely light greenish/blue color all through the heat and cold and drought and rain. I forgot to collect seeds from them last fall.

Carla

I think what I had was cottage pinks. Are they supposed to be a short lived perennial? It could be that the gophers and moles disturbed the dirt too much that year and that's what killed it.

Do the cotttage pinks bloom into the spring?

If I remember right, mine bloomed from spring til frost.

I picked up firewitch, bewitched, and another (left the tag outside, maybe raspberry swirl) all three were labeled by the nursery (Blue Moon) as choice performers in full Texas sun. Good luck all, we are going to have pretty pinks this year.

Hi everyone:
so glad to find this thread. I've been growing dianthus from seed. both the firwitch types as well as Barbarini, superbus and any others I can find. If T & M holds all the rights to there plants you should be able to propagate freely on any seedlings you get. Please tell me if I have the facts right?
pic is of D. barbarini which get pretty tall.
Dave