Carnations

[pink21]

These are one of my favourite cut flowers and would love to be able to grow them in my garden but never see them as plants to buy only Pinks or Dianthus is it not possible to grow them yourself?

[cruella]

Hi pink21
Yes, it is possible to grow carnations as I grew then many years ago.
You can grow them from seed or cuttings and most gardeners will say they are easy to grow, I found them the opposite. Very fragile, buds had to be ringed before bloom, so I just decided to stop growing them. I buy them now. So much easier.

[pink21]

Thanks for your reply cruella, what do you mean by "buds have to be ringed" sorry I'm a novice gardener.

[cruella]

Hi pink
Gardeners recommend that you ring the buds before they come into flower. Basically it is just to keep the flower bud intact so that you get the perfect flower when they do flower. It is a plastic ring that you put round the bud of the flower before it opens. Have a look in your local garden centre. They may be able to give you some tips.
Cheers.

[heathfield]

Dianthus is the 'proper' name for the carnation and pinks species. Pinks are the small varieties.

[rabbitygirl]

My mum is currently enjoying another year of lovely blooms from carnations she originally received in a bouquet. She just pulled of some side green shoots and put them into some sandy compost and they rooted. The bouquet was from a big bank which behaved atrociously to my mum and seeing these carnations each year just reminds me of how mad this bank makes me even now.

[amonty1144]

You can never be sure of what you're getting with cuttings from a bouquet but you will usually get a reasonable flower.
If you want a particular type, try this link. Don't guarantee the standard of the plants but thomson and morgan are usually excellent.

http://plants.thompson-morgan.com/form/dlist/n ame/carnation?er=googleuk;term=carnation+plant s