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I have had a few of what I call dianthus survive each year but most of the time they die. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? Do all of them have fragrance or just a certain kind? I don't smell anything but my MIL says hers do/and they do have a fragrance. Do you dead head these?
Thanks for your input.

are you planting the annual or perennial kind of dianthus? there are 2 different ones you know. the annual ones are really small, but they are really pretty. you usually find them in the green house with the other annuals, like petunias or marigolds. the perennial ones are found out in the open at the garden centers with things like daylilies or coreopsis. sweet william is similar to dianthus but the flowers are smaller. I have both. my sweet william is in a rock garden in my back yard, & my dianthus are in the front yard. they are also called carnations. does this help you out any? perennials are anything that lists your zone or lower on the tags. if it doesn't have a zone # on it or say perennial any where on the tag, it's probably an annual & it won't survive the winter outside. so, you really need to check the tags on anything you buy. what zone are you in? it helps to know that. good luck in your search.

Hey ladeuce!! Good to see you
I have carnations out front and they do very well. Also Dainthus and they do well too.
Don't know about Sweet Williams.
I'm in the Denver area.
Good luck!

Sweet William, "Dianthus barbatus" are short lived biennuals, although sometimes they can last 3 to 4 years.
"Dianthus" is a family of plants that includes Carnations, Pinks, and more. Some are annuals, others biennuals, and still more perennials which are plants that you can expect to grow 3 years of more.

There are so many varieties of Dianthus that it can be confusing. Here's some info for you.

If you like the plant your MIL has perhaps she would allow a few flowers to go to seed for you. Otherwise you can buy plants or seed and grow whichever of the many varieties you choose. They are an easy plant to grow from seed. If you find varieties that are called 'clove pinks' or 'cottage pinks' they should be scented.

Some claim not to need deadheading but others need to be.

I had a clump of double-flowered, "dianthus plumarius" for many years that I started from seed. The flowers looked like teeny carnations and had the same sweet fragrance. They made great cut flowers for mini-arrangements. They tolerated benign neglect well. Mine never achieved the same size clump as the ones pictured in the link below; they spread out low across the ground. I learned early on not to prune them much. Had to let them overwinter with all their foliage left on and only cut out the dead parts come spring. Then one spring, they didn't return... Not sure what happened.
See the second photo here ~
http://www.anniesannuals.com/s...pom/0711/default.asp

Well phooey Nettiejay....that picture is what I call my cottage pinks...and they have been returning for years and years. I did have some sweet williams, and agree they are short lived...their flowers are multi-colored...and sweetly scented. I haven't replaced those.


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thank you for the info on the Dainthus nettiejay now I know what happened to mine. I cut them back once to often.
Good luck Ladeuce!

Thank you all for your replies....I thought I had posted back earlier this week but I do not see my reply...I'm sorry this is now so late.

I did not know you had to deadhead some of the varieties so that might be some of my issues. And I guess I knew there 'might' be both annuals and perennials but didn't really think about it. I never cut mine so that can't be my issue of them not coming back. I will do my homework/reading the link supplied. Thank you all again for your input.

Silly bird.....my memory is awful any more....I don't recognize your name? Always great to see someone on here from CO!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ladeuce,

Ladeuce I'm Sorie10. I'm using laptop mostly now. They wouldn't let me sign in as Sorie10 so signed up as Silly bird.