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First-year rosette

Family caryophyllaceae Life cycle biennial? Flowers pink (July) Size 24" Light sun-part shade From seed germinate at room temperature detailed seed-starting info below Seed ripens early October This is most likely a biennial. In its first year, it had nice glossy foliage in neat little rosettes, but didn't do anything else. It returned the next spring, strong and healthy. To start with they looked a little odd, with the first year's spent leathery leaves drooping darkly down, and the bright green new leaves growing upwards. In early summer, they lost their compact appearance and started reaching a bit more airily for the sky. Flowers appeared in early July, and sure enough, are much like other pinks we grow. Overall, a nice plant. I'm hoping it's a perennial now... It's good to have gardening friends with more experience and botanical knowledge - I originally had this listed as Gastrolychnis violascens (that's what I traded for), but it didn't quite fit. Close inspection of the seeds nailed this as being a dianthus - they are flat, whereas those of the lychnis types are rounded or kidney-shaped (for example, see my L. chalcedonica page)

The leaves along the flower stalk turn glossy burgundy in fall

flat seeds

This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away...

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Seed-starting details for this plant

2005. Seed from '04 trade. Baggy 70F (60%G, 4-8d)
2007. Seed from '06 garden. Baggy 70F (89%G, 7-10d)
2013. Seed from '09 garden. Baggy 70F (73%G, 6-8d)

Seed is fragile - protect from crushing. Very young seedlings are finnicky.

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