Pink

Pink (Dianthus) - Plants of the highest garden value, containing several of our finest families of hardy flowers—the Carnation, Pink, and Sweet William—besides numerous alpine and rock plants that are among the most charming of mountain plants. Many of the species are plants of the heath, dry meadow, or maritime Alps; or shore plants, such as the Fringed Pink (D. superbus); and, so far as our climate is concerned, they are almost at home in lowland gardens. On the other hand, some are among the very highest alpine plants, like the Glacier Pink and the Alpine Pink.

We have had the greatest success with fine selfs that combine hardiness with good form and color, and, what is more precious, a perpetual blooming habit. Nothing could be better than Countess of Paris, Carolus Duran, Colin de Harville, Mad Roland, Murillo, Mme. Lafausse, Mdlle. Rouselle, Veronica, Jenny Lind, Comte de Melbourne, and Flora. Of English kinds the only one we have had to equal the preceding is Alice, a white self of perfect form and a perpetual bloomer. Some standard kinds of the present are: Beau Nash, Border Yellow, Bookham Clove, Gordon Douglas, The King, Bookham White, Innocence, Fujiyama, Mrs Eliot Douglas, The Grey Douglas, Daffodil, Elizabeth Shiffner, Hercules, Lawrence, Linkman, Lord Steyne, Mephisto, Miss Willmott, Pasquin, Ruby, Pink Beauty, Solfaterre, Ketton Rose, Purple Emperor, Rose Celestial, Mary Morris, Roy Morris (scarlet), Trojan (white), George Maquay (white), Mrs Sudway (dark red), Robinson Suisse (rosy), Raby Castle (rose), Lady Hermione (salmon), Crimson Clove (not the old Clove), Redskin (red), Mephisto (rich velvety claret), Suisse Seedling (pale rose), and Fred Vaughan (striped red and dark).

The soil has a marked influence upon Carnations. In very light, hot soils, as in Surrey, they cannot be grown well at all. They want a loamy soil, calcareous loams being the best. In these they make a harder growth, and stand two or more years, spreading into great tufts and bushes.

Related Flowers

Alpine Pink

Alpine Pink (Dianthus Alpinus) - A beautiful and distinct plant, distinguished at a glance from any other cultivated Pink by blunt-pointed, shining green leaves. The stems bear in summer solitary circular flowers of deep rose spotted with crimson, and when the plant is in good health they are so numerous as to hide the leaves. In poor, moist, and very sandy loam this Pink thrives, and forms a dwarf carpet, though the flower-stems are little more than 1 in height; but both leaves and stems are much more vigorous and tall in deep, moist, peaty soil. Wireworms cause its death more frequently than unsuitable soil. It should be placed in a fully exposed spot, and carefully guarded against drought, especially when recently planted. It is not difficult to increase from seed, and it comes true; and it may be also increased by division. Alps of Austria.

Sweet William

See Sweet William

Dianthus Cal-Alpinus

Dianthus Cal-Alpinus - A hybrid of D. callizonus and D. alpinus, and one of the best of the dwarf alpine set. The handsome flowers are of rosy crimson with a darker central zone.

Dianthus Freynii

Dianthus Freynii - icrolepsis), from Hungary, is a minute-growing kind of 2 inches high; the flowers are pink. Suited for rock walls, crevices, or the moraine.

Dianthus Sub-Acaulis

Dianthus Sub-Acaulis - Also a minute-growing species having glaucous tufts an inch high, covered in its day with pale pink flowers. Dauphiny.

Carnation

Carnation (Dianthus Caryophyllus) - This beautiful flower, so much loved in all countries where it can be grown, both under glass and in the open air, is derived from a wild Dianthus of W. Europe and the Alps, which, as regards our own country, is wild on Norman castles such as Rochester. From very early days it seems to have been a favourite flower, as in Dutch pictures nearly three hundred years old the Carnation, mostly in its striped forms, is shown in perfection. At a very early date the Carnation was divided into four classes, viz., Flakes, Bizarres, Picotees, and Painted Ladies. The Flakes had two colors only, the stripes going the whole length of the petals. Bizarres (from the French, meaning odd or irregular) were spotted or striped with three distinct colors. Picotees (from the French piquotee) had a white ground with additional colors in spots, giving the flowers the appearance of being dusted with color. Painted Ladies had the under side of the petals white and the upper side red or purple, so laid on as to appear as if really painted. Unfortunately this class has so entirely disappeared that many growers are not aware that it ever existed. The first two classes still remain unchanged; but the Picotee, instead of being spotted, has the colors confined to the edge of the petals, and any spot on the ground color (which may be either white or yellow) would detract from the merits of the flower as an exhibition flower.

Double-flowered kinds

Double-flowered kinds, as a rule, are not desirable, except the double dwarf magnificus, the deep velvety crimson flowers of which are the finest among the double kinds: the large heads of flower are numerous, the color is rich and effective, it is a dwarf, vigorous grower, and soon forms a strong tuft. The Sweet William is easily naturalised in woods or copses by simply scattering the seed in barish spots, using any single kinds.

Another class, too long neglected, consists of self-colored kinds. A familiar type is the old Crimson Clove, a sweet and lovely thing, which may be had also in several different shades of self-color. The florists of the old school did not pay much attention to self-colored Carnations, and till recently there was a scarcity of fine varieties. We may now have them in all shades of color. They combine hardiness and vigour with free blooming and great effect. For the flower garden they are the most important. They should be grown in bold groups or simple masses associated with Roses or choice hardy flowers.

Tree Carnation

The Tree or perpetual flowering Carnation is valuable as a pot plant; or, if planted out in a greenhouse border, it produces flowers in winter and spring, when none can be had out of doors. The most popular of this class is Souvenir de la Malmaison, with large cream-colored blossoms and delightful fragrance, and from this have been obtained many new and beautiful colors; so that, with these and other varieties, there is now no difficulty in obtaining all colors, from pure white to bright scarlet.

Cheddar Pink

Cheddar Pink (Dianthus Caesius) - One of the prettiest of the dwarf Pinks, the fragrant and rosy flowers appearing in spring, on stems 6 inches high. In winter it perishes in the ordinary border, while quite happy on an old wall. It is a native of Europe and Britain (the rocks at Cheddar, in Somersetshire). To establish it on the top or any part of an old wall, sow the seeds on the wall in a little cushion of Moss, if such exists, or, if not, place a little earth in a chink with the seed and it may also be grown upon the rock garden in firm, calcareous, or gritty earth, placed in a chink between two small rocks.