Dianthus plumarius Desmond

Dianthus plumarius 'Desmond', also known as Desmond carnation, is a very old variety. It is a timeless classic that is suitable for all uses. From summer to autumn, it produces dark red to blood-red double flowers, emitting a heady and spicy fragrance. Already popular with our great-grandmothers, this old variety combines sturdiness, an undemanding nature, and elegance. Ideal for rockeries, walls, and containers. Plant in full sun.

'Desmond' belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. It is an old cultivar (before 1830) resulting from cross-breeding between D. plumarius and D. caryophyllus. D. plumarius is a European perennial and is the main ancestor of the different groups of carnations, both old-fashioned and modern. D. caryophyllus is Mediterranean, and it has passed on to its descendants its wonderful clove fragrance. This carnation's growth rate is quite rapid. Its adult size will not exceed 25 to 30cm (10 to 12in) in height with a spread of 30cm (12in). It forms a rather loose clump. From May to July, and again in September, it displays bouquets of intense dark red flowers, marked with purple at the centre, with numerous fringed petals. The highly fragrant flowers appear at the top of short stems and are usually single-flowered. The more it is pruned, the more it blooms. Its linear, glabrous, evergreen, and leathery leaves are a superb grey-blue-silver colour.

Dianthus plumarius 'Desmond' is a border plant, suitable for embankments and dry rockeries. It is also perfect for containers and bouquets. It can be paired with other flowering cushions such as rock roses, catchflies, dwarf wormwood (Artemisia lanata), wall bellflowers, Caucasian rockcress, creeping phlox, Delosperma cooperi, Erigeron karvinskianus, and bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum). This plant looks beautiful between the stones of a wall or paving, or when planted en masse in a sunny garden. It adapts very well to pot cultivation, in light soil.