Garden, Clove or Cottage pinks are perennials that form loose tufts or cushions.
The quadrangular flowering stems are up to 35 cm high.
Stems have up to 5 pairs of stiff, linear leaves.
The blue-green leaves are up to around 8 cm long and a few mms wide.
Those in the basal rosette are larger than the ones up the stems.
Inflorescences are 1 to 3 scented flowers.
When flowering there are usually a few stems at the base without flowers (unlike D. chinensis).
The epicalyx usually has 4 small bracts 5 to 6 mm long.
The green or purplish-brown calyx is 2.5 to 3 cm long with 5 teeth.
The flowers are up to 3 cm across and have 5 petals up to 15 mm long.
Flowers are pink to dark pink or occasionally white.
All or almost all seen these days are cultivars with a darker central eye or other markings.
The limb may be ruffled and there are hairs at the base.
The edge is deeply fringed with the divisions extending up to half way into the limb.
The divisions are narrow but not as thin as the almost thread-like ones of Dianthus superbus
which extend more than halfway down the limb.
There are 10 stamens, an ovary up to 4 mm long and 2 styles 5 to 10 mm long.
It is an important species as most of the Pinks cultivars have it as one parent.
Dianthus caryophyllus may be the other parent but frequently both parents are registered or
unregistered Dianthus plumarius cultivars.
Dianthus plumarius ‘Doris’ or Dianthus ‘Doris’.
Dating back to 1945 it forms low mats up to 40 cm high and almost as wide.
It has grey-green leaves and pale pink, semi-double flowers with a darker pink centre.
Dianthus plumarius ‘Houndspool Ruby’.
Derived from Dianthus plumarius ‘Doris’ it is also seen as Dianthus ‘Ruby’ and Dianthus ‘Doris Ruby’.
Forming mounds 35 to 50 cm high and wide it has blue or grey-green foliage.
The semi-double flowers are similar to ‘Doris’ but a deeper rose-pink (rose bengal) with
a dark current red ring around the centre.
The petal edges have shallow, blunt to pointed teeth.
Dianthus x allwoodii, a hybrid of Dianthus plumarius and D. caryophyllus has numerous cultivars.
Dianthus x allwoodii ‘Memories’ has double white flowers with serrated edges.
Dianthus x allwoodii ‘Passion’ has deep red double flowers.
Dianthus Star Single Series ‘Superstar’.
Patented as ‘WP11 TYR04’ the female parent was the unpatented ‘Zora’ and the male parent is unknown.
They are compact plants around 20 cm high with blue-green foliage.
The solitary, single flowers are up to 3 cm across and scented.
They are a cherry red with wide white blotches and a deep cherry red centre.
The edges have a narrow white border (picotee).
J.F.
