Dianthus barbatus, known as Sweet William is easy to grow from seed for the traditional cottage garden-style borders. The tall green stems are topped with dense, flat clusters of flowers from late spring till summer. Dianthus salmon has these delicately fringed petals with the desired salmon-like rose pink color. The plants are very sturdy and survived the wet clay soil and total neglect over winter. They don’t need support and flower abundantly on sturdy stems.

The flowers are a bit softer pink than in the first two pictures. The true color was hard to capture with a camera in full sun and looks different depending on the type of (computer) screen. In the third picture, you see the most realistic color of the flowers in a bouquet with late winter (early February) planted ranunculus. They lasted 2 weeks in the vase and age beautifully to a soft pink tone.

Planting information to grow dianthus from seed:
Plant type: hardy biannual
Height: 50 centimeters
Position: full sun or partial shade
Start: early summer to flower next year
Number of days until plants bloom: 300 days
Distance between the plants: 30-40 centimeters
Pinching: no recommended
Germination: 2 to 3 weeks at around 12 to 15°C
Number of seeds per pack: 50

How Can I grow dianthus salmon from seed?
Because dianthus is a biannual you sow seeds in the summer to flower next spring. Biannuals are a great addition to the garden because they fill up the gap between the spring-flowering bulbs and the summer-flowering annuals. The green foliage gives volume to the garden in late summer and autumn, building up strength and roots to support abundant blooms next season. sow seeds in seed trays in June or July and plant out at the end of summer.