Annual Carnations: Varieties And Cultivation

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Divine carnation flowers

Carnation - dianthus - translated from Greek means "wondrous flower". There are more than 300 types of carnations in nature, of which only 10-15 species are popular in our gardens. All of them are perennials, but only some of them are cultivated as perennials, because not all carnations survive our winters.

Some of them have to be grown as annuals that bloom in the year of sowing. There are biennial carnations, which in the year of sowing develop only rosette leaves, they bloom in the second year, subsequently losing their decorative effect.

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All carnations are fairly cold-resistant and frost-resistant. In our region, they do not need shelter for the winter. Some varieties bloom once a season, others resume flowering during the season (remontant). Terry varieties bloom later than non-double varieties, but they bloom longer.

Let's consider the types of carnations (Dianthus) in more detail.

Annual carnations

One of the most beautiful annual carnations is the Shabo garden carnation. It was bred by the pharmacist Shabo in France almost two centuries ago.

Forms compact bushes 50-60 cm high, each bush is almost a bouquet. Its leaves are gray, narrow. The flowers are large, showy, often double, clean bright color from white to dark red and purple, with a strong typical clove aroma. To obtain especially large flowers, it is necessary to remove the lateral shoots and buds, leaving one central one.

This carnation is light-requiring, quite cold-resistant, loves fertile and well-calcified soils, does not like excessive moisture. Since it blooms 5.5-6 months after sowing, it has to be sown early - in February and even earlier. Then it will bloom from June to October, and if you dig it up and plant it in a pot in the fall, then it will bloom even longer on the windowsill. Basically, this long-legged beauty is grown for cutting.

Seeds are sown to a depth of 0.5 cm, dive twice: in the phase of two well-developed cotyledon leaves and in the stage of the second or third pair of true leaves. Above the fifth pair of leaves, pinch the growing point so that the plant is compact and more bushy. In May, after hardening, they are planted in the ground according to the 25x25 cm scheme.

Seedlings are not afraid of weak, up to -1 ° C, frosts. They are fed during the budding period and at the beginning of flowering. Difficulties in growing seedlings are that plants need additional lighting and a low temperature of + 10 … + 12 ° С. Otherwise, they will grow weak and elongated.

Now on sale you can find Shabo carnation seeds of the Kassandra variety - with bright red flowers, Sirena - with large, strongly double raspberry-pink flowers, as well as a mixture of colors. Since in a bad rainy summer, the Shabo carnation gives flowers of poor quality, you need to try to select varieties that are resistant to bad weather: King of Fire, Ruby, Pink.

The most unpretentious and at the same time beautiful annual carnation is the Chinese carnation. This is a bush that branches from the very base - immediately a ready-made bouquet, strewn with flowers during flowering.

It can be sprawling or it can be compact. The height of the bush is up to 50 cm. The leaves are bright green, and may be gray. Flowers are simple or double, sometimes with strongly dissected edges. The diameter of the flowers varies from 3 to 8 cm, almost odorless. Homeland - the south of Primorsky Krai, North China, Korea. In Europe, this carnation appeared at the very beginning of the 18th century, when a French missionary sent its seeds from China to Paris. Since then, she has been loved by florists.

In our region, Chinese carnation is grown as an annual. It grows well both in bright sun and in light partial shade. Loves slightly calcareous light and loose, moderately fertile soil. It develops better in wet areas. It does not bloom in severe drought.

It is propagated by seeds. It takes 60-80 days from germination to the appearance of buds, so you can sow it at home for seedlings from mid-March to early April, sow in moist soil, cover the seeds with a soil layer of about 2 mm. The best temperature for seed germination is + 16 … + 20 ° С. In such conditions, seedlings appear in about 10 days.

Here it is necessary to reduce the temperature to + 10 … + 15 ° С. It is very important for cloves to keep this temperature, because they do not like higher temperatures. In the stage of two pairs of true leaves, seedlings can be dived. At the end of the spring frost, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the garden according to the 30x40cm scheme. From mid-July, sometimes earlier, flowering begins in our area.

You can additionally sow seeds in the ground in May. This is done to extend the flowering period, because this carnation usually has a short flowering period. True, now there are varieties with a longer flowering period. For example, the Ideal Rose variety of Chinese carnation is a short bush with pink-purple flowers. Plants are not afraid of small frosts down to -3 ° C, so the seedlings can be planted in the ground at the beginning of May.

Plant care is simple. In a drought - water. It is necessary to feed carefully: once every 2-3 weeks with mineral or organic fertilizers - both those and others of low concentration. No need to overfeed. Fresh manure is not allowed. It is necessary to remove the fading flowers, then the flowering period will last. Avoid stagnant water. Plants do not tolerate autumn and spring night frosts well, although they tolerate them. It is better to cover the planting with lutrasil at night.

For more than three centuries of cultivation of the Chinese carnation, many forms and cultivated varieties have been developed that are beautiful both in the garden and on the balcony, in a pot. Now on sale there are varieties of a wide variety of colors, for example, the Baby Dol variety - mainly a mixture of colors, non-double flowers with a spot and a border in the middle. The Imperialis variety is also sold in a mixture of colors.

Breeding work has been especially active in recent years. Varieties are being created with a long flowering period, with a small growth, since the cultivation of flowers in containers, pots, etc. is in fashion now. Varieties with bushes less than 15 cm high have already been created! Such hybrids create, in accordance with fashion trends, series. For example, the Aristo series - charming bushes 15-25 cm high, flowers with a red center, around which a snow-white ring with red dots shines. Or the Picotee series - dwarfs with contrastingly colored petals.

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In 1897, Karl Geddevig, a gardener of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden, raised a carnation with especially large and beautiful flowers from seeds obtained from Japan. This garden variety of the Chinese carnation was named after him the Geddevig carnation. It forms compact or spreading bushes 20-40 cm high. The color of flowers is white, in different shades of pink and red, sometimes with a smartly painted spot in the center. The flowers are practically odorless. Often this carnation is considered a separate species, which, in general, is not so important for us, amateur gardeners.

This carnation has many varieties, of which the most beautiful and sometimes found in our sale are as follows:

Brilliant - sprawling bushes 25-30cm high. Terry flowers, up to 5 cm in diameter, dark red, with serrated petals.

Vesuvius - bushes up to 30 cm tall. Terry flowers, up to 6 cm in diameter, fiery orange-scarlet, fringed petals. One of the best varieties of this variety.

Lucifer - bushes 25-30 cm tall. Terry flowers, up to 6 cm in diameter, orange-red, deeply dissected petals, curved.

Schwarzer Prince - bushes 20-25 cm tall. Flowers with a diameter of 5 cm, double, black and burgundy, petals with a white scalloped border along the edge.

Schneebal - sprawling bushes up to 30 cm tall. Terry flowers, up to 6 cm in diameter, white, with a slightly noticeable greenish tinge.

There is this carnation for sale with almost black flowers with a white border on the petals. Bushes are compact, 30-35 cm high. Flowers are single, double, up to 6 cm in diameter.

Now there is a hybrid carnation, obtained from crossing the Turkish carnation and the garden carnation. It is grown as an annual plant. Different hybrids give dense small inflorescences of simple or double flowers with a diameter of each flower 2-4 cm. All of them are very elegant, bloom for a long time, and are good at cutting.

The hybrids of this carnation are especially popular.

Carm F1 - bushes height 20 cm, abundant flowering. It has 7 varieties with different flower colors. The series shows its merits especially well in planters and containers.

Parfait F1 - bushes 15 cm tall with very large non-double flowers. It has several varieties with different flower colors.

Telstar F1 - not very dense bushes 25-30 cm high, blooming profusely, there are 7 varieties in this series with different flower colors.

The Princess F1 and Lillipot F1 series have double flowers.

Read the next part. Biennial and perennial carnations: types of varieties and cultivation →

Lyubov Bobrovskaya

Photo by Natalia Butyagina and Olga Rubtsova