Dianthus chinensis Imperial Mix seeds - China Pink

The China Pink 'double Imperial Mix' is a delightful selection of Dianthus chinensis. With a compact habit and cheerful colours, it produces single or variegated flowers with multiple fringed petals in shades of light pink, dark pink, salmon, white, red, and bicolour. These tender and short-lived perennial plants are mostly grown as annuals. Sown early in spring, under heated shelter, they bloom for long months in sunny borders and containers.

The 'double Imperial Mix' China Pinks belong to the Caryophyllaceae family. It is a selection derived from D. chinensis heddewigii, native to a large part of China, where it grows in meadows, steppes, and sandy dunes, at the edge of forests, as well as along watercourses. The growth of this short-lived perennial China Pink is very rapid. The mature size of the 'double Imperial Mix' selection does not exceed 40 cm in height, when flowering, with a spread of 25 cm or more. Each plant forms a small prostrate tuft with a spreading habit. Its tiny, linear, jade to bluish-green leaves, speckled with purple, are tightly packed on slender stems. The flowering begins in June and lasts until September-October if the soil is not too dry. The plant is then continuously covered with beautiful double, 3 cm wide flowers, with heavily fringed petals, in a lovely range of pink, red, salmon, and white shades. Some are solid-coloured, while others are bicolour. They have a pleasant fragrance and are usually borne singly at the top of the stems.

Plant these 'double Imperial Mix' China Pinks in an open location on a slope where they can spread in the sun. They look stunning in a rockery, on the slope of a well-drained bank, or at the top of a dry stone wall. These plants can fill the base of bushes in large pots and decorate large containers, or alpine troughs. Before planting, in heavy or clayey soils, add a few shovelfuls of gravel and coarse sand to facilitate water drainage. The China Pink pairs well with alpine or mountain plants such as alyssum, soapworts, creeping phlox (P.subulata and P.douglasii), aubrieta, candytuft, and rock roses.