Dianthus caryophyllus

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	[[Lifespan::Perennial]]

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	Sun"Sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	regular to dry"regular to dry" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	Flowers, Fragrance, Naturalizes

Scientific Names

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Dianthus caryophyllus (Clove Pink) is a species of Dianthus.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves are glaucous greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long. The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme; they are 3–5 cm diameter, and sweetly scented; the original natural flower colour is bright pinkish-purple, but cultivars of other colours, including red, white, yellow and green, have been developed.

Read about Dianthus caryophyllus in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Dianthus Caryophyllus, Linn. Carnation. Clove Pink. Picotee. Grenadine. Cespitose, glabrous, 1-3 ft., the sts. hard or almost woody below, the nodes or joints conspicuous: lvs. thick, long-linear, very glaucous, keeled, 5-nerved, stiffish at the ends: fls. mostly solitary, showy, very fragrant, rose, purple or white; calyx-bracts 4, very broad, abruptly pointed. B.M. 39 (Bizarre Carnation); 1622 (var. imbricatus); 2744 (Picotees).—Generally supposed to be native to the Medit. region, but Williams gives its geographical limits as "north and west Normandy" and "south and east Punjaub" (northwestern Hindoostan). In Eu. it is largely grown as an outdoor pink, but in this country it is chiefly known as the greenhouse carnation. The American forcing type (which may be called var. longicaulis) is distinguished by very long stems and a continuous blooming habit; it is here the carnation of commerce. Garden varieties of D. Caryophyllus are numberless, and they often pass under Latinized names (D. punctatus, Hort., is one of these names). See Carnation. The carnation has been long in cult. The bloom is now very variable in size, form and color; originally probably pale lilac. Fragrant. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

A Carnation cultivar

Carnations require well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil, and full sun. Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden planting. Typical examples include 'Gina Porto', 'Helen', 'Laced Romeo', 'Red Rocket'.

Propagation

Seed.

Pests and diseases

Main article: List of carnation diseases

Taxonomy

Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Latin "caro" (genitive "carnis") (flesh), which refers to the original colour of the flower, or incarnatio (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh.

Although originally applied to the species Dianthus caryophyllus, the name Carnation is also often applied to some of the other species of Dianthus, and more particularly to garden hybrids between D. caryophyllus and other species in the genus.

Distribution and habitat

It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden Carnation.

Gallery

Carnations painted by Redouté

External links

• Wikibooks' Gardening-Carnations
• Carnations and Pinks Resources
• Carnations and the Floriculture Industry: Records of the Colorado Flower Growers Association