Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Pot Carnation

Group/Class:  Sunflor Series

Description:

Fully double, pure white miniature carnations bloom consistently over a long season on short, sturdy stems; has a wonderful spicy clove fragrance; great for border fronts, containers, and floral arrangements

Ornamental Features

Sunflor® Cosmos Carnation has masses of beautiful fragrant white frilly flowers at the ends of the stems from mid spring to mid fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive small narrow leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Sunflor® Cosmos Carnation is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sunflor® Cosmos Carnation is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sunflor® Cosmos Carnation will grow to be only 4 inches tall at maturity extending to 6 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 8 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Sunflor® Cosmos Carnation is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.