Dianthus 'Purple Star' (Carnation) – Scented Patio Perennial (Set of 3 or 6)

Dianthus 'Purple Star' is a patio carnation with frilled purple flowers and the spicy clove scent carnations are known for.

Carnations give you the frilled, many petalled flower and the spicy clove scent on a compact bushy plant of 25 to 40cm. They flower from autumn into early winter and often come again in spring, which makes them useful when most of the garden has gone over. They suit a bright windowsill just as well as a pot by the door.

They arrive as established plants in 10.5cm pots, grown peat free in Yorkshire, with strong roots and often already in bud. Give them full sun or light shade and free draining soil, and deadhead regularly to keep the flowers coming.

Three or six planted together in one container give far more presence than a single plant, and the flowers last well when cut for a small vase. The foliage is a narrow blue green that stays on the plant, so the pot still looks like something between the flushes.

These are hardy, rated H4 by the RHS, and come through an average British winter in well drained soil; it is wet, heavy ground in winter rather than cold that they dislike. They cope with dry ground and with salt wind once they are established, which is useful in an exposed or seaside garden.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Carnation, dianthus
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 25 to 40cm tall and 20 to 30cm across
• Growth Habit: Upright and bushy
• Perfect For: Patio pots, borders, cut flowers, a bright indoor windowsill
• Foliage: Slender, blue green leaves
• Flowering Time: Autumn to early winter, often reblooming in spring
• Flower Colour: Purple
• Planting Position: Full sun to partial shade, in free draining soil or a container. Also grown indoors in a bright spot
• Soil Type: Free draining, fertile
• Hardiness: Hardy (RHS H4). Give it well drained soil so it does not sit wet over winter
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly and feed through the growing season
• Seasonal Interest: Autumn, winter and spring
• Type: Hardy perennial