Dianthus 'Sugar Plum' (Cottage Pink) – Fragrant Hardy Perennial (5L Pot)

Dianthus 'Sugar Plum' is a cottage garden pink with richly scented, semi-double flowers in dusky plum pink.

Each bloom carries a deeper eye at its centre and sits above a neat mound of narrow, silvery blue-green leaves that stay on the plant all winter. Flowering runs from June through to September, so the scent carries well into late summer, and the stems cut and last well in a vase.

Give it full sun and soil that drains freely. It suits the front of a border, a rockery, a path edge or a patio pot, and once settled it copes with dry spells and with salt laden air near the coast. Deadheading through the summer and a light trim afterwards is all it asks. It arrives as an established plant in a 5L pot, ready to go straight out.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Cottage pink
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 30 to 40cm tall and 30 to 40cm wide
• Growth Habit: Compact, mound forming perennial
• Perfect For: Borders, rockeries, path edging and patio containers
• Foliage: Narrow, silvery blue-green, evergreen
• Flowering Time: June to September
• Planting Position: Full sun, including coastal gardens and containers, and it copes with dry soil once established
• Soil Type: Well drained, neutral to alkaline
• Hardiness: Fully hardy in Britain and happy to stay outside all year, as long as the soil drains freely over winter
• Maintenance: Deadhead through the summer and trim lightly after flowering
• Seasonal Interest: Summer
• Type: Hardy evergreen perennial