Sugar Plum Dianthus

As colorful as can be, the Scent First® Sugar Plum Dianthus also has a wonderful perfume, the classic clove-rich scent of carnations. Indeed, the flowers, on stems up to a foot long, are smaller versions of florist’s carnations, being a generous 1½ inches across, fully double, and brightly colored in red and pink. Carried on a compact evergreen plant that makes a small mound of gray-green foliage, this wonderful plant can begin to bloom as early as April, and continue to produce blooms right into October, in warmer zones. Each flower lasts 10 days, on the plant or cut in a vase, so you can enjoy this great plant either way. The flowers have frilly petals, edged with irregular serrations, and are a deep plum-red, with a broad band of light pink at the end of every petal. They have classic charm, and look great in the garden among your perennials; in a rock garden or on a slope; in large planters with other plants; or in their own pot, perfect for decorating a terrace table.

• Fully double, 1½ inch blooms like small florist’s carnations
• Warm, bright colors of plum-red and light-pink
• Evergreen mound of silver-green foliage about a foot wide
• Blooms continuously from spring into the fall
• Richly fragrant, the way things used to be

A spot in full sun is best for your Scent First® Sugar Plum Dianthus, although it will grow with just a touch of shade for an hour or two each day. It needs well-drained soil, with a preference for sandy soils and even gravelly areas, and prefers neutral to alkaline soil. If you have acidic soil it’s an easy fix – just add a handful of garden lime when turning over the ground before planting. Rabbits and deer normally never touch it, and it usually has no pest or disease problems, if the soil and light are suitable for it. Remove dead flowers by cutting low inside the mound – this keeps it compact and encourages more flowers. Don’t cut to the ground in fall as you would most of your other perennials.