Pinks
Garden pinksSweet william
Garden pinks
Avoid rich, moisture-retentive soil at planting — this genus thrives on relative neglect once established. This is the hardy border type; a florist-style perpetual-flowering carnation is the separate `perpetual_carnation` group below, which needs an almost opposite regime.
Care
Full sun.
Drought-tolerant, dislikes wet winter soil.
Free-draining, neutral to alkaline soil; good on chalky ground, add grit on heavy clay.
Trim lightly after flowering to keep compact; avoid cutting into old woody growth.
A light, low-nitrogen feed as growth starts and again after the first flush. These want a lean, gritty, alkaline soil — rich feeding gives lax growth and the open, bare-centred mat that never really recovers.
Take pipings in early summer: hold a non-flowering shoot and pull the tip out at a node, so it comes away cleanly, then push it into gritty compost. It is the simplest cutting in gardening and needs no knife.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchTake cuttings ('pipings') to refresh older plants, which get woody after a few years. how ›
- JuneDeadhead to prolong flowering. how ›
- AugustLight trim after the main flowering flush to keep compact. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchTake cuttings ('pipings') to refresh older plants, which get woody after a few years. how ›
- JuneDeadhead to prolong flowering. how ›
- AugustLight trim after the main flowering flush to keep compact. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Orange pustules on leaves.
What to do. Remove affected foliage, improve airflow.
How to spot it. In wet winter soil.
What to do. Improve drainage.
CarnationsPerpetual-flowering carnation, Florist carnation
Carnations
Needs a fundamentally different regime from border pinks — regular feed and water, staking, disbudding, and frost-free winter protection. Treating it like a hardy border pink (dry, neglected, left outside) will kill it over winter.
Care
Bright and sunny — grown under glass (greenhouse or conservatory) in most UK gardens rather than planted straight into a border.
Grown far more intensively than border pinks — keep compost consistently moist; unlike the drought-tolerant border type, this group dislikes drying out.
Free-draining, fertile, peat-free compost in pots or a greenhouse border; benefits from a regular balanced feed through the growing season.
Pinch out (stop) young plants to encourage bushy growth, stake flowering stems as they lengthen, and disbud the side buds on each stem — leaving only the terminal bud — for the classic single large carnation bloom.
Grown under glass for continuous flowering, so it is fed accordingly: a balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks through the growing season, leaning towards high potash while buds are forming.
Cuttings from short non-flowering side-shoots in late winter, pulled from the middle of the stem and rooted in gritty compost with gentle warmth. Stock is best renewed every two or three years — old plants get leggy and flower poorly.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchPinch out (stop) young plants to encourage branching and more flowering stems. how ›
- MayStake flowering stems as they lengthen — this group has weaker stems than border pinks. how ›
- JuneDisbud side shoots, leaving one terminal bud per stem, for large single blooms.
- OctoberKeep under glass and frost-free over winter — this group won't reliably survive a UK winter outdoors. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchPinch out (stop) young plants to encourage branching and more flowering stems. how ›
- MayStake flowering stems as they lengthen — this group has weaker stems than border pinks. how ›
- JuneDisbud side shoots, leaving one terminal bud per stem, for large single blooms.
- OctoberKeep under glass and frost-free over winter — this group won't reliably survive a UK winter outdoors. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryPinch out (stop) young plants to encourage branching and more flowering stems. how ›
- AprilStake flowering stems as they lengthen — this group has weaker stems than border pinks. how ›
- MayDisbud side shoots, leaving one terminal bud per stem, for large single blooms.
- NovemberKeep under glass and frost-free over winter — this group won't reliably survive a UK winter outdoors. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryPinch out (stop) young plants to encourage branching and more flowering stems. how ›
- AprilStake flowering stems as they lengthen — this group has weaker stems than border pinks. how ›
- MayDisbud side shoots, leaving one terminal bud per stem, for large single blooms.
- NovemberKeep under glass and frost-free over winter — this group won't reliably survive a UK winter outdoors. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Fuzzy grey mould on flowers and stems in humid, poorly ventilated conditions under glass.
What to do. Improve ventilation, remove affected material promptly.
How to spot it. Fine leaf mottling and fine webbing, worse in hot, dry glasshouse conditions.
What to do. Raise humidity, treat if noticed.
How to spot it. Sudden collapse after a cold snap.
What to do. Keep this group under cover through winter, unlike hardy border pinks.
Popular varieties
Questions
Pinks: is it hardy?
Garden pinks: H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C. Carnations: H2: Tender. It survives down to 1 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Garden pinks: Does very well in pots and troughs with sharp drainage. Carnations: Essentially always grown in pots or a greenhouse border in the UK climate.
Pinks: when do you prune it?
Garden pinks: Trim lightly after flowering to keep compact; avoid cutting into old woody growth. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in August. Carnations: Pinch out (stop) young plants to encourage bushy growth, stake flowering stems as they lengthen, and disbud the side buds on each stem — leaving only the terminal bud — for the classic single large carnation bloom.
Pinks: when does it flower?
Garden pinks: In the climate of UK it flowers in June–August. Carnations: In the climate of UK it flowers in April–October.
When do you feed it?
Garden pinks: A light, low-nitrogen feed as growth starts and again after the first flush. These want a lean, gritty, alkaline soil — rich feeding gives lax growth and the open, bare-centred mat that never really recovers. Feeding months, UK: April, June. Carnations: Grown under glass for continuous flowering, so it is fed accordingly: a balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks through the growing season, leaning towards high potash while buds are forming. Feeding months, UK: April–August.