Double Bubble Dianthus

With fantastic bubble-gum pink double flowers in spring and again in fall, the Double Bubble Dianthus is sure to brighten your perennial beds or your rock garden. It’s a great pot-plant too, ideal for a table on a terrace or balcony. Standing about 8 inches tall in bloom, and up to 12 inches across, it grows as a dense, low mound of narrow leaves of a striking blue-green, looking great all winter, since it is evergreen even in zone 4. The flowers are an inch across, and unlike many older double dianthus, they are produced in a profusion that is usually only seen in single-flowering varieties. Vibrant pink balls of many petals, there are two buds per stem, and the edges of the petals are frilly and clipped into irregular serrated designs. Flowering in late spring, blooms are produced over a 6-week period, often with a second, smaller blooming in early fall, as the heat of summer fades. Grow this great little plant in a rock garden or at the front of perennials. Plant it at the edge of a path or terrace. It also makes a great pot-plant, ideal for placing on a patio table.

• Fully-double flowers have frilly edges and are bright bubble-gum pink
• Delicately fragrant with hints of cloves and spices
• Evergreen foliage is blue-green and ground-hugging
• Blooms for weeks between late spring and summer
• As lovely in a pot as it is in the garden

Plant the Double Bubble Dianthus in a sunny place, with no more than an hour or two of shade in a day. It grows in any well-drained soil, thriving in sandy or gravel soils that are neutral or alkaline. If your garden has acidic soil, add a handful of garden lime when digging the soil before planting, and it will grow perfectly. It isn’t bothered by rabbits or deer, or by pests or diseases, and it’s very easy for new gardeners to grow. Trim after the flowering is over, and not in fall, as you would for most perennials.