PlantFiles: Allwood Pinks, Modern Pinks
Dianthus x allwoodii

This year, I'm going to split my seed in 2 batches, one to wintersow ( [HYPERLINK@www.wintersown.org] and the DG Wintersowing Forum) and the other to sow indoors using a baggy method (see my comment for Gentiana septemfida for details, and per [HYPERLINK@tomclothier.hort.net] - Sow at 20*C (68*F); germinates in less than 2 weeks).

Seeds and seedlings of Dianthus allwoodii hate to get too wet - more than most - so, this winter I've decided to make their potting medium of 2 parts perlite, 1 part sand (not too sharp), and 4 parts soilless potting medium. It's not the drainage, as Norman Deno points out in the 2nd edition of his book, Seed Germination Theory and Practice - it's the "aeration." He says that roots are constantly consuming oxygen, and the sand and perlite provide air spaces for it. Playing devil's advocate, he says, "...if drainage were essential, plants could never be grown by hydroponics."

After filling your clean, sterile plastic pots with this medium, he recommends sterilizing it by pouring boiling water over it 3 times, followed by letting the pot drain and cool before sowing seed or transplanting just-germinated seeds into it from the coffee-filter/baggy.

Once your seedlings are strong enough to go into the open ground - don't do it. Yup, if you live where summers are hot and humid and the ground has a lot of clay in it, as we have in Maryland, do not just let them sit in the ground. Oh, they'll survive and flower, but if you plant them in a raised bed where their stems and leaves can cascade down over stone or ramble over a layer of gravel or more stone instead of just flat on the flat ground, they'll spread into a solid sheet of silvery leaves hidden by clove-scented flowers in late May - early June - they don't even look like the same plant that's just sitting in the ground. And, don't forget to plant iris behind them - the two were made for each other in heaven.

I got this plant a couple of years ago from a local nursery, and the following year it bloomed profusely and had grown to three or four times the size it was when I bought it. I highly recommend this plant.

Allwood Pinks are a the result of crossing an old fashioned carnation with Dianthus plumarius. The flowers come in colorful combinations of red, pink, white and many have contrasting eyes and fringed petals. They prefer a well drained soil and are best grown in full sun. Cut plants back after flowering and they may reward you with a second flush of blooms. Some popular cultivars are 'Doris' (a very pale salmon pink), 'Constance' (a white with maroon lacing), and the 'Telstar Hybrids' (a stunning mixture of bright colors