Scientific Name:
Dianthus caryophyllus
Pronunciation:
dye-AN-thus kair-ee-oh-FILL-us
Common Name:
carnation
Family Name:
Caryophyllaceae
Plant Type:
Flowering cut plant, Herbaceous perennial
Key ID Features:
Loosely tufted with woody base, most cultivars 15cm - 80cm tall; leaves opposite, linear, most 4-12cm long x 3-7mm wide, glaucous, bluish-gray-green, base decurrent, nodes swollen; cyme with 2-5(-7) florets, each 3-5cm wide, petals 5-20, ruffled.
Habit:
Stiffly upright
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
0.4 - 0.7m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Europe (Mediterranean)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 6: (-23 to -18 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Alkaline, Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Attract butterflies, Container planting, Cut flower or foliage, Floristry, Fragrance, Perennial border, Rock garden, Summer interest
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Opposite
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Glaucous
Colour in Summer:
Bluish, Green, Silver / Grayish
Shapes:
Linear
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Decurrent
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
to 15cm long
Inflorescence Type:
Cyme, Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White, Orange, Yellow, Green-yellow, Green, Violet, Purple, Pink, Magenta, Red, Dark-red
Flower Scent:
Fragrant, Spicy
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Often doubled with up to 20 ruffles petals; open cymes with 2-5(-7) florets
Fruit Type:
Capsule
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Oct, Nov
Additional Info:
Fruit insignificant
Bark Morphology:
Smooth
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green, Brown
Propagation:
Seed, Softwood cuttings, Division - below ground parts
Pest Susceptibility:
Crown rot, Rust (Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Drought tolerant)
