Dianthus chinensis var. heddewigii.
Dianthus chinensis heddewigii, Heddewigii Group and Dianthus x heddewiggii.
According to the American Horticultural Society Dianthus heddewigii hort. is a synonym of Dianthus chinensis.#
Others regard ‘heddewigii’ as a horticultural name for a large group of cultivars derived by crossing
Dianthus chinensis and Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William).
The name ‘heddewigii’ dates back a long way as in 1861 Thomas Lang & Co., Nurserymen, Seedsmen and Florists
at Main Road Ballarat was advertising a dozen Dianthus Heddewiggii seeds, from Japan, for 1/-.##
Heddwiggii cultivars have been crossed back with Dianthus chinensis as far back as the early 1860’s.
An example is ‘Adrien Seneclauze’ a semi-double with dark crimson petals, zoned black and with a pale toothed edge.
Dianthus chinensis is known as the Chinese or Rainbow pink and Dianthus heddewigii as the Japanese pink.
Heddewigii plants are around 24 cm high and have masses of flowers with fringed petals.
They are bi- or multi-coloured singles in white, reds, pinks and mauves frequently with a dark ring.
The edges are pinked and there are many variations in colours and patterns.
Single colour doubles are also seen as heddewiggii plants an example being the pure white dwarf ‘Snowball’.
Possibly the most easily recognisable of them is the cultivar ‘Black and white minstrel’.
This is a clump forming plant 30 to 40 cm high and 30 cm wide with blue-green leaves.
The large fragrant, double flowers have petals that are a blackish-crimson (often called black) with a white edge
that is markedly toothed. The underside of the petals is white.
# The American Gardener Nov – Dec 2004.
## The Star of Oct 23 1861. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66342944.
J.F.
