Carnations inspire the gardener's imagination when it comes to painting sunny areas with calcareous soil. Fortunately, the tens of thousands of wonderfully beautiful varieties pull together when it comes to cultivation. If you still have questions on your mind, you can find the right answers here.
How do I properly care for carnations in the garden?
Cloves thrive optimally in sunny locations with humus, calcareous and well-drained soil. They require moderate watering, regular fertilization and pruning close to the ground. They are also hardy and can be propagated by cuttings or division.
Planting carnations correctly
To ensure that early carnations take root quickly in the garden, prepare the soil carefully. Thorough weeding is just as important as deep raking and removing roots or stones. Soil additives such as compost (€12.00 at Amazon), bark humus, leaf mold, vital lime and quartz sand compensate for minor deficiencies. In the end, the substrate should be humus-loose, well-drained and calcareous. This is how the planting continues:
- Put the potted flower with the root ball in water
- Dig small pits at a distance of 20-30 cm
- Create drainage on the sole with grit, pottery shards or gravel
- Unpot the soaked plant, insert it in the middle up to the bottom pair of leaves and water
Since the flowers do not like a humid environment, mulch is not spread on carnations. Inorganic mulch is only tolerated in rock gardens or gravel beds.read more
Care tips
If carnations find the optimal conditions as a result of expert planting, care is limited to the following measures:
- Water moderately in dry conditions without watering the flowers
- Fertilize organically or liquidly every 2 weeks from May to July
- Cut spent flowers after the first bloom
- Pruning close to the ground in spring before fresh shoots
In rough locations and in a planter, provide the flower with light winter protection. A layer of brushwood, leaves or pine fronds in the bed can be used. Cover a large bucket with jute ribbons or bubble wrap. It is better to put small pots away in the bright, frost-free winter quarters.
Which location is suitable?
Carnations thrive in all their glory in a sunny, warm and airy location. If the soil is humus, calcareous and well-drained, the flowers will develop dense flower pads over time. However, avoid a location with partially shady or even shady lighting conditions and permanently moist, nutrient-rich soil. Fungal diseases and other he alth problems are then inevitable.
The correct planting distance
No universal planting distance can be specified for the diverse carnation genus. Instead, the chosen flower variety defines the ideal distance from the plant neighbors. For the well-known bearded carnation, a distance of 30 cm applies, while the delicate Whitsun carnation can cope with 15-20 cm.
What soil does the plant need?
The majority of cloves prefer calcareous, rather poor and sandy-dry soil. Too rich a supply of nutrients affects both the abundance of flowers and resistance to diseases and pests. Within the broad genre, the following special features must be taken into account:
- Carnation: all varieties of this flower prefer fresh, moist, clayey soil
- Heiden clove: the only plant that cannot tolerate lime, but thrives in acidic soil
- Carthusian carnation: the flowers reach their optimum in the sandy soil of the rock garden
- Carnation: the lush flower feels particularly comfortable in moist soil
What is the best time to plant?
Do not plant the flowers outdoors until mid-May at the earliest so that their delicate shoots are not killed prematurely by late ground frosts. This applies equally to purchased carnations and those you have grown yourself. This date is also relevant for direct sowing of two-year-old species and varieties.
When is flowering time?
The central flowering period of carnations extends from June to September. If you combine the flowers with feather carnations, you can look forward to the delicate flowers from April onwards. Most species and varieties of this perennial plant have the potential to bloom again. If you take the time to cut off the withered flowers after the first bloom, a second bloom will follow within a few weeks.read more
Cut carnations correctly
Once the carnations have finished their first bloom in the summer, cut off the withered flowers. In this way, the plant does not invest its energy in the growth of seeds, but rather develops lush subsequent blooms. If the plant is then allowed to reproduce on its own through seed, leave the withered flowers in the bed. Together with the wintergreen foliage, the pruning close to the ground is carried out in spring at the latest to make room for fresh shoots.
As a cut flower for the vase, carnations stay fresh for up to 3 weeks if you cut the stems 1-2 cm above the ground in the early morning and change the water daily.read more
Watering carnations
Carnations love a constantly moist substrate. This requirement implies that they do not want to be bothered by drought stress or waterlogging. Therefore, always water after a thumb test when the soil has dried out. In the pot, this care is required at shorter intervals than in the open field, where the natural rainfall covers a large part of the water requirement.
Fertilize cloves properly
As a weak eater, the delicate flower rarely requires additional nutrients. Fertilize the bed with compost every two weeks from May to July and the bucket with diluted liquid fertilizer. Alternatively, you can administer a long-term fertilizer for flowering plants once in early summer.
Wintering
Carnations are naturally hardy in winter. Since this attribute is different in the countless varieties, if in doubt we recommend the following precautions for safe overwintering in the bed and planter:
- Cover flowers in the bed with coniferous twigs or leaves before the first frost
- Cover the plant in the pot with bubble wrap and place it on wood
- Warm the substrate with a layer of wood wool, leaves or straw
Above all, keep in mind the threat of drought stress if there is a frost. If there is no snow, water the plant on frost-free days. Fertilizer is not administered from August to April.read more
Propagate cloves
The following two methods of propagating carnations have proven themselves excellently in hobby gardens for generations:
Cuttings
In summer, cut off 10 cm long, non-flowering shoots below a leaf node. Remove the leaves from the lower part so that at least the upper pair of leaves remains. After small cultivation pots have been filled with peat sand or pricking soil, insert two-thirds of a clove cutting into each and water. Care for the young plants in a partially shaded, warm window seat while they are rooting so that they can be planted out next May.
Division
In early spring or late summer, dig up the plant and divide the root ball into two or more segments with at least 2 shoots. Planted in the new location, watered regularly and treated with compost, the flowers will bloom in their usual splendor the following season.
Cloves in a pot
In the pot, the flower impresses with its nostalgic flair on the balcony and as a houseplant on the sunny windowsill. Add drainage underneath the substrate to prevent harmful waterlogging. If the soil feels dry in the morning, water with room temperature tap water. The flower in the pot is fertilized with liquid fertilizer every 14 days from May to July. If you clean out withered flower heads regularly, the flowering period will be extended by many days.
Carnations don't bloom
Don't be surprised if a sown carnation doesn't bloom in the year it's planted. It is usually a biennial plant. In the first season it is busy developing a root system and dense leaves. Just in time for the start of the next growing season, you can look forward to the first blooms.
Which are the most beautiful types of carnations?
It's not that easy to discover the ideal carnations for your own green kingdom among the more than 27,000 enchanting varieties. Knowing the most popular types makes the agony of choice noticeably easier:
Carnation(Dianthus caryophyllus): perennial, multiple inflorescences, height 40-80 cm, flowering period June to September
Whitsun carnation(Dianthus gratianopolitanus): perennial, single flowers, height 5-15 cm, flowering period May to July
Bearded carnation(Dianthus barbatus): biennial, multi-flowered, Growth height 30-50 cm, flowering period June to August/September
Sand carnation(Dianthus arenarius): single flowers, finely feathered, growth height 10-20 cm, flowering period July to September
Carthusian carnation(Dianthus carthusianorum): perennial, 5-7 flowers per head, height 15-45 cm, flowering period June to September
Heide Carnation(Dianthus deltoides): perennial, branched, bushy, height 10-40 cm, flowering period June to September
Kaiser Carnation(Dianthus chinensis): perennial, branched, height 30-60 cm, flowering period May to September
Feather Carnation (Dianthus plumarius): cushion-forming, 1-5 flowers per stem, height 20-30 cm, flowering period April to July
The heather carnation has rightly established itself as an outstanding plant as the flower of the year. In addition, the flowers are protected in Germany. By the way, the well-known cloves do not belong to this genus, but belong to the myrtle family.
How do I care for carnations after flowering?
When it comes to carnations, don't settle for just one flower cluster. If you cut off the withered flower stalks in summer and add a dose of fertilizer to the soil, a magnificent rebloom will appear within a short time. If you do not want the plant to self-sow, cut off the stems again immediately after the second flowering. The wintergreen foliage adorns the garden during the cold season so that it can be cut close to the ground in time for new growth in spring.
Trivia
In the labor movement, the red carnation serves as an identifying symbol not only in Germany, but worldwide to this day. Socialist parties have used the symbolic flower as part of their logo since the late 19th century. The students of the venerable University of Oxford wear a white carnation for their first exam, then pink flowers and a red carnation for their final exam.
Beautiful varieties
- May snow: enchanting, white filled feather carnation with a seductive scent; Growth height 10-25 cm
- Düsseldorfer Stolz: violet-flowering carnation, ideal for gravel beds and grave plants; Growth height 10-20 cm
- Nigrescens: impressive bearded carnation with dark red, velvety flowers and nostalgic flair, height 35 cm
- Whatfield Gem: white-pink filled, intensely fragrant Whitsun carnation with grey-green foliage, height 10-15 cm
