Common Name: Pinks
The large flowers of ‘Cranberry Cocktail’ look and smell like mini-carnations—and you can enjoy them in your garden and in cut bouquets alike. Full, 2” double hot magenta-pink flowers have serrated edges, rising above its grey-green, dense foliage.
Deer resistant, low maintenance and drought tolerant attract butterflies, fragrant, cute cut flower—what more could one want in a perennial? The Dianthus FRUIT PUNCH® series delivers all that and more in your choice of four colours. Double flowers stand like mini carnations atop a short mound of evergreen foliage in early summer. A quick shearing after flowering will encourage them to rebloom in early fall. Dianthus is just the right size to edge the front of the sunny border and use it in combination containers.
Dianthus grow best in loose, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soils. Lime can be added to the soil if it is naturally acidic to raise the pH. Dianthus can be grown in full sun or part shade, but the foliage will not be as lush and fewer flowers will be produced if it is grown in hot, dry areas. Regular watering during prolonged dry spells will be necessary. However, they are tolerant of short periods of dryness.
Do a thorough clean-up in the fall to prevent pest and disease problems, and add a layer of mulch to protect the evergreen foliage. As soon as the weather begins to warm up, remove all of this mulch to prevent crown rot.