By Lorraine Kiefer Carnations are such pretty ruffled blooms that last for a couple of weeks in clean water. How appropriate that this long lasting bloom be the flower of the month for January. Everyone needs a pretty long lasting bloom in their house to remind them that spring will come. Carnations grow in the most colors of any...
By Lorraine Kiefer
Carnations are such pretty ruffled blooms that last for a couple of weeks in clean water. How appropriate that this long lasting bloom be the flower of the month for January. Everyone needs a pretty long lasting bloom in their house to remind them that spring will come. Carnations grow in the most colors of any flower and last the longest of any other. It is no wonder florist love them. I like to add them to most vases or arrangements and I also love the decorate cakes with the mini carnation. This weekend I put them on a "honey" bee hive cake I made for our herb society meeting. They look as good today, a day later as they did yesterday and they are not in water.
Carnations are flowers that retrieve memories of special times in my childhood. For most holidays, parties or special family events, my Aunt Addie Bertulis would bring beautiful big bunches of fragrant carnations for me to arrange. They were grown under glass locally, in nearby Clayton by her neighbors the Baptiste family. These carnations were beautiful and they smelled like carnations. So did the dianthus or pinks that grew in my grandmothers' gardens in spring and summer. We all grew fragrant Sweet Williams, the biennial dianthus as well as pinks and miniature carnations in the garden.
A "honey" bee hive cake made for an herb society meeting. The carnations looked as good, a day later, as they did when put on the cake -- and they were not in water. Actually these beautiful blooms, often associated with love and Mother's Day, are quite a bit older than my childhood. They are considered to be among the "ancient" flowers. Greek botanist Theophrastus classified them according to their form and structure, calling them dianthus. This comes from the Greek dios, divine and anthos, flower. Many think the carnation part came from coronation, flower garland, because the blooms were used to make floral crowns in ancient Greece.
I especially love the small garden carnations, now often called mini carns are actually from the spicy smelling old-fashioned pinks or gillyflowers as they were called in England. They were called clou de girofle in France because of their spice odor (means nail of the clove tree) Today carnations are still loved in the floral industry because they are definitely the most long lasting blooms of all. I love to use them in floral arrangements because they are so colorful, pretty and enduring. All these great qualites and they are among the most reasonable costing of all floral blooms in winter.
Plan to plant some as garden flowers this spring. Dianthus are excellent. There are so many different kinds and most are extremely hardy and come up every year. I especially love the ones that are fragrant. When looking at perennial dianthus, always read the tags to see which are fragrant and which bloom the longest. When you give a dianthus plant for mother's day, remember it is a plant that will be long lived as long as it is in a sunny, well-drained spot.
Dianthus should be planted where they will receive at least 4-5 hours of full sun each day. They thrive in fertile, fast draining, slightly alkaline (pH 6.75) sweet soil. In our area this often means a cup or two of lime early in spring. Avoid over-watering because it may tend to turn the foliage yellow. A bi-weekly watering for established plants in dry weather will keep them handsome. They sometimes reseed, so leave a few blooms to remain for seed production. However, for the most flowers cut spent flowers off so the plant will continue to bloom.
Plant most 12 to 18 inches apart and at the same depth at which they were previously growing. The crown, or top of the root structure, must be level with the surface of the soil. Never bury any part of the stems. Unlike most other plants, Dianthus plants should not be mulched. They require good air circulation around the stems at all times and must be kept as free from foliage moisture as possible. For continued blooming feed lightly every six to eight weeks with an all-purpose (10-10-10) or 14-14-14 fertilizers. I like the osmocote that is good for four months so it lasts all season. These even numbers rather than high nitrogen promote blooms.
The smallest spicy smelling June pinks are also called clove pinks. These are often planted in herb gardens and are the plant of the poets. A favorite in the Middle Ages they were often used for many ailments from headaches or a fever to nervous disorders. The petals were used in soups, sauces, wines and vinegars. We still love to use them on cakes and cup cakes as a pretty edible decoration.
They were grown in the monastery gardens for their beauty and fragrance. Since they usually bloomed in the month of May they were often used to crown or decorate statues of the Blessed Mother.
Dianthus ae resilient to heat and drought and if deadheaded will bloom during summer in most climates. This disease and pest resistant dianthus is a great addition to any sunny garden. I chose it because of its fragrance and color.
In January you can give colorful bouquet of carnations wrapped or in a pretty vase with baby's breath. I love the bright colors and sometimes mix them together. It is especially fun to always try the new varieties that come in so many stripes and varigated patterns. Seems modern breeders have created flowers wtih unusual colors and longivity, but much of the fragrance is sacrificed.
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Lorraine Kiefer is the owner and operator of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville. She can also be reached by e-mail at Lorraine@tripleoaks.