Dianthus, Garden Pinks, Maiden Pinks 'Zing Rose'

This plant makes a bright, thick, mat forming ground cover. The cheerful little pink flowers cover the plant in spring. Sheering off the ...Read Moreseeds pods after flowering keeps a nice tidy appearance, but waiting until after it has gone to seed with help it spread through self seeding. They like a mostly sunny, well drained soil. One thing to consider is that this plant does best when divided every 3 years or so. It tends to die out in the middle, so transplant the outside areas, and discard the center. Very pretty with other late Spring/ early Summer blooming flowers like forget me nots, woodland phlox, English bluebells, and late blooming tulips. This is a wonderful little plant.

Growing without a problem for 10 years now. Each year I collect seed, trade some and use the rest to expand the planting along my rock wa...Read Morells. Given the acid rain problem in the northeast, lime is absolutely necessary. In addition, I add bonemeal each March all the dianthus and lavender plants.

I've had trouble growing dianthus before. Sometimes they don't come back after the winter, sometimes the middle dies out, sometimes they...Read More just don't impress me much. But I really love my Zing Rose--they made it through a REAL Minnesota winter just fine. I think that leaving them bare might be better than covering or mulching for the winter.
Update 2011: I removed these from my garden. Short-lived perennial? Just didn't look nice any longer.

This plant is sometimes also known as Maiden Pinks. It is a great repeat bloomer and will also self-seed. Can be used as a groundcover ...Read Moreas it only reaches a height of 6-8".