The most beautiful species at a glance

Easy to maintain in the sunny rock garden

The plant group is ideal for a sunny and rather dry rock garden, with the smaller species in particular also very well in the crevices and cracks of dry stone walls or in Troughs or Pots let cultivate. Cloves are easy to care for: Basically, it is sufficient to remove dead stems. However, not all species are by any means hardy, In addition, sensitive carnation varieties not only need protection from frost in winter, but above all protection from moisture. When it comes to plant diseases, it is the clove rust, a fungal disease that occurs when it is damp, that troubles the carnations.

Species-rich plant genus in numerous variations

Carnations can look very different: There are densely piled, Matting species as well as grassy or semi-shrubby perennials. The leaves are mostly grass-like (an indication of the frugality of this group of plants) and, depending on the species and variety, gray-green or green. The simple, delicate flower in pink, violet, white or yellow is either single or in little flowered umbels. The petals are usually (but not always) slit.

Proven types and varieties

Of course, not all Dianthus species and varieties are suitable for the local rock garden. Particularly beautiful and easy-care variants are, for example, these:

• Dianthus deltoides (heather carnation): The varieties 'Brilliant', 'Nelli', 'Splendens' and 'Leuchtfunk' all have red flowers with a ring pattern. They become around 15 centimeters high. 'Albus', on the other hand, has a white flower. All heather carnations are green-leaved and growing in grass.
• Dianthus plumarius (feather carnations): The feather carnations with their delicate, feathery flowers smell very intensely and are often higher than all others Carnation species. The 'Diamant' variety grows to around 30 centimeters high and has a white, double flower. The up to 20 centimeters high 'Heidi', on the other hand, impresses with its blood-red, double flowers. 'Ine', up to 25 centimeters high, has half-double, white flowers with a red ring pattern. Pink, double flowers, on the other hand, have the up to 20 centimeters high 'Pikes Pink'.

Particularly beautiful in the stone and gravel garden: the whiteclove

The peonies (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), which bloom between May and June, grow in dense cushions of gray-green to blue-gray mats. The slightly fragrant, pink, red or white flowers protrude from these. The light violet-pink blooming 'Eydangeri' and the purple-pink blooming 'Mirakel' are tried and tested, richly blooming varieties.