Container Gardening | Dianthus
My parents front patio has five large clay pots painted white (painted by me). My mum started growing Pansies in these when we first moved in, and it was absolutely beautiful. However, our front patio gets a lot of afternoon harsh sun. In the summer this can be intolerable for plants, especially in containers. After few months we saw the Pansies giving up, even with all the watering and fertilizing we were doing it was just not going to survive. Mum replaced the pots with beautiful pink and purple Dianthus plants. These lasted couple of years, however as we all went overseas in the heat of December- January summer our beautiful plants have dried up. Mum is still overseas and I am glad she is, because if she returned to see the sight of crunchy brown plants on the patio her heart would be broken.
On closer inspection I also realised the soil was hard packed in the pots. I immediately cleaned out the dead plants. Surprisingly there were few plants that started coming up after a few days of my arrival. My dad made sure to water the containers every day. By some miracle few plants grew up and even started flowering. Last week when I decided to redo all the pots this is what it looked like.
I went to Bunnings and bought two Dianthus 'Pohlmans 10 Pots Assorted Annuals Pack for AU$10.65. I was planning to put 4-5 plants in each pot depending on how many plants I already had in them. I also bought my favourite Richgro 25L All Purpose Organic Compost for AU$ 3.95.
I carefully removed the plants that was already in the containers and kept them aside. Then, I broke down the packed soil and mixed the Organic Compost really well into each container. I planted 4-5 plants per container using the new plants and the few plants I was able to save from before. There was a mix of Pink, Purple and White Dianthus plants in each pot. After about 30 minutes, planting was done and I gave them a good drink of water. I was extremely happy with how the containers turned out. I know my mum will be definitely happy at the sight of these.
Details About Dianthus
Scientific Name - Dianthus chinensis
Planting Location - Garden Beds or Containers, Hanging Baskets are appropriate too.
Planting - Moisten the soil before planting. Plant to the depth of cell root ball. If planting in containers or baskets 3 plants per 30cm pot is ideal.
Fertilizer - At the time of planting mix in rotted manure. (The compost I used already has nutrients) Fertilize every two weeks with liquid fertilizer.
Sun Exposure - Full Sun
Growth - 15-20cm Wide and 20-25cm Tall
Watering - Water when the top soil looks dry or every couple of days.
I hope you all give a try at growing this beautiful plant. I know I had fun planting it for sure.