Germination temperature
About 21-24 °C (70-75 °F) in the compost.
Flower growing guide
Chinese pinks such as Baby Doll germinate quickly in warm compost and flower through the cool months. This guide covers sowing, the drainage they need and why they fade in hot, humid weather.
About 21-24 °C (70-75 °F) in the compost.
Surface sow and cover with a thin layer of vermiculite or fine compost.
Fast: roots appear in 2-4 days under ideal warm conditions.
Light is not needed to germinate; a light cover is fine. Full sun afterwards.
None needed.
Best started in trays and transplanted.
Dianthus seed is small, flat and dark. Sow it thinly onto a moist, fine seed compost, one or two seeds per cell if you use plug trays.
Not needed. The seed absorbs water readily.
Not needed for Chinese pinks. Warmth, not cold, starts germination.
Not needed. The seed is small and germinates within days; soaked seed is also harder to sow evenly.
Keep the compost at about 21-24 °C (70-75 °F). Cooler conditions slow germination.
Sow on the surface and give a light cover of vermiculite or sieved compost, just enough to hold moisture around the seed.
A light, free-draining, low-fertilizer seed compost. Seedlings are very sensitive to high salt levels in their first weeks, so do not use strong fertilizer or salty water early on.
Keep the compost moist but do not overwater. Dianthus dislikes wet conditions from the seedling stage onward.
Light is not necessary for germination, so a thin cover does no harm. Move trays to bright light as soon as seedlings appear, or they stretch.
Under warm, steady conditions the first roots appear in 2-4 days and seedlings follow quickly; in cooler rooms allow longer.
Seedlings are ready to transplant about 5-6 weeks after sowing. A week before planting out, grow them cooler at about 13-15 °C (55-59 °F) if you can, to harden them.
Young plants grow best in cool, bright conditions, around 15-18 °C (59-64 °F). Commercial growers finish flowering pot plants about 14-16 weeks after sowing, which is a useful guide for planning.
Cause: crown rot and rust in poorly drained, wet soil. Fix: grow in raised beds or pots with free-draining soil and water at the base, not over the leaves.
Cause: China pinks perform poorly in hot, humid summers. Fix: grow them as a cool-season annual and give afternoon shade in warm climates.
Cause: too much fertilizer or salt in the compost or water during the first stages. Fix: start in a low-fertilizer seed compost and feed only lightly once true leaves form.
Cause: Botrytis in damp, crowded, poorly ventilated conditions. Fix: space plants, improve air flow and remove faded flowers and damaged leaves.
Cause: slugs and snails, which find pinks in too much shade. Fix: give the plants more sun and remove hiding places.
In the Indian plains pinks are planted in September-October so they flower through the cool season; in the hills planting is done in February-March. Allow roughly 14-16 weeks from sowing to a flowering plant.
Give full sun, with afternoon shade in warm climates. Pinks prefer neutral to alkaline, well-drained soil of average fertility; a sprinkling of lime helps on acidic soil.
Remove spent flowers and trim plants lightly after a heavy flush of bloom to encourage another one.
The leaves contain saponins and can irritate sensitive skin; wear gloves if you are trimming a lot of plants.
Sow Dianthus Baby Doll for compact Chinese pinks that flower through the cool season.
No. Light is not necessary for Chinese pinks, so you can give the seed a thin cover of vermiculite or fine compost to keep it moist. Seedlings need bright light as soon as they appear.
In the plains, pinks are planted in September-October so they flower in the cool season; allow about 14-16 weeks from sowing to flowering. Hot, humid weather shortens flowering.
It is a biennial or short-lived perennial that is usually grown as an annual, especially where summers are hot and humid.