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Dianthus gratianopolitanus |
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| Seedling from our original straight-pink specimen |
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Common name |
cheddar pink |
Family |
caryophyllaceae |
Life cycle |
perennial (Z3-8) |
Flowers |
rose (May-June) |
Size |
12" |
Light |
sun |
Cultural notes |
prefers alkaline soil |
From seed |
germinate at room temperature Flowers first year from seed sown indoors early.
detailed seed-starting info below
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One of the first perennials to grace our garden (although at the time I thought it was maiden pink, D. deltoides), our original specimen was a sight to behold in early spring, with its blue-green grass foliage covered in pink flowers, sprawling in a circle almost two foot across. Sadly, it bit the dust after a good number of years of service. Since then, I've tried to re-establish it from seed collected from the original plant, and have also started several other varieties from traded seed. They all form a mat of narrow, gray-green foliage spreading up to 16-inches wide (although ours usually don't reach those proportions), and fragrant flowers in a range of colors, depending on cultivar. We've had pure pink, purplish pink with white markings, and a contrast-rich burgundy-white bicolor. The petals on some are fringed, while others are smooth-edged (it may be that I'm describing two different species here – in which case, please set me straight). Some years, they've managed to start blooming in early July, from seed started indoors that spring.
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This little beauty grew from a plant I had marked as D. gratianopolitanus, but the flowers don't look like any of that species that I've seen. Dianthus continues to confound me.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Dianthus gratianopolitanus
- Seed from '03 trade. Baggy 70F (50%G, 4-7d)
- Seed for 'Sops in Wine' from '04 trade. Baggy 70F (15%G, 4-8d). According to some internet references, this is actually D. plumarius, with white double flowers.
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