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A Brief Overview Carnations and Pinks

By Mick Walters

Varieties of carnations and pinks date back many years from about the year 1100, when the pink was introduced by the monks from Normandy. In Elizabethan times there were Malmaison carnations which were very highly scented but as more people started to exhibited them, they wanted better looking blooms, and so growers began to breed them to get a better flower that was more disease resistant with more colours varying from yellow, green, deep red, purple and various mixtures, but in doing this they lost their fragrance, although some of these older highly scented carnations and pinks are still available.

Carnations can be divided into three main groups; they are the hardy perennial border carnations that can be grown without protection in the garden and flowers in July and August, the half hardy annual carnation that can be grown from seed to flower in late summer; these need less attention than the half-hardy perennial Perpetual Carnation are used for Buttonholes, which when grown in a greenhouse, will continue to grow and bloom from early spring and if you want flowers all year round just keep the heat to a minimum of 45-50 Deg.F and they will continue to flower for a couple of years or more. Annual Carnations have improved in size and colour from crossing with Perpetual Carnations. The garden pink and border carnation are both ideal for the perfumed garden , carnations being taller at the back , with the pinks in front – how lovely to walk down the garden path and smell that glorious clove perfume, and what could be better than a nice vase of flowers with that clove scent indoors.

The cultivation of these plants is very similar they will grow on most soils, but like a well drained soil that is on the limey side. They grow better in lighter soils because in a lighter soil the plants are assured of better drainage. If the soil is heavy and sticky a considerable improvement can be made by incorporating liberal amounts of coir or peat and washed sharp sand to improve the soil texture and drainage. Garden compost or well rotted manure will give body to the soil, when preparing the beds, a good dressing of bone meal a day or two before planting; as I always think it is better when using fertilizers for new plants as it could cause scorching of their fine roots, followed by a top sprinkle of limestone afterwards to keep the beds alkaline, then all they need is a little feeding in their growing season and a little ground limestone to keep the soil alkaline, plenty of light and air. The taller carnation varieties will need staking to give them a little support in the wind as the stems are quite brittle, this is one of the reasons the flowers last so well in water. The perpetual carnations can be grown in beds or pots in the greenhouse although if they are in pots they are easy to move around and check for water as they do not want to be to wet.
To increase the number of plants Carnations and pinks seeds can be sown in well drained seed compost keeping it just damp as young plants are likely to rot, but these plants will not grow true to the parent plant. So the best method is to take cuttings; to do this select a healthy side shoot about halfway down the plant then with eight leaves support the main body of the plant with one hand, snapping off the shoot with the other hand at a node leaving two leaves left on the plant, this will then give you another side growth on the plant. Dip the cutting in water so as to keep the cutting from wilting , place the tip in rooting hormone powder tapping on the side to remove any excess, and then plant in a flower pot filled with a 50-50 sandy cutting compost mixture with a layer of sand on the top. Cover the pot to keep the humidity without making the compost to wet, this can be done in the autumn or in the winter with a little heat in a propagator. When the plants are well rooted they can be potted on in small pots until they get established then larger pots until they are large enough to go in their final planting positions.

Mick Walters May 2006