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Carnations and pinks belong to the large family of Dianthus, and have a long history. Theophrastus mentioned carnations as far back as 300 BC when it adorned the gardens of ancient Greece. William the Conqueror is supposed to have introduced them to England from where they became popular wherever the British went. Available in many colours like crimson, red, peach, pink, lemon, white and bicolour, carnations make beautiful cut flowers and are good for bedding and pots. They are broadly divided in three groups: Perpetual flowering or florist’s carnations, chaubaud carnations and border carnations. Carnations like open, well-drained soil and appreciate lime. On wet ground, they should be grown on raised beds so that the roots are not waterlogged. A soil rich in nitrogen is not suited to carnations. It may cause heavy vegetative growth, fewer blooms or even lead to splitting of the calyx. The manure should be dug deep into the soil with super phosphate and muriate of potash at 100 gm and 20 gm respectively to per square metre while preparing the bed. Allow 15-18 in. of space between plants. Do not cover stems with soil and stake the plants later. Water when required and give a top dressing of bone meal at 100 gm per sqm. While growing in pots, the carnations must be potted gradually in different sizes of pots, repotting firmly without disturbing the soil ball. Do not water that day. Thereafter, water as required without letting the soil drying out. As the flower buds appear, disbudding may be done in case large flowers are to be attained—keeping one flower per stem. Seed, layers and cuttings propagate carnations. Seeds: Seeds should be sown in boxes of rich soil with a layer of decayed leaves below it to retain moisture. Some sharp sand along with some lime should be added to the compost. Scatter the seeds thinly over the surface, covering it lightly with fine-sifted soil. Cover the box with glass to protect from birds—removing it as the seeds germinate. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle. Layering: It is the simplest way of increasing carnations. Put some freshly prepared soil around the plant to a depth of about 2-3 in. Choose young side shoots of non-flowering plants about 4 - 5 in. long, strip a few pairs of leaves and cut a slanting notch two-third of the way through the stem upwards and press this part of the stem down so that the cut notch is open below the soil level. Peg it with jooda pins and press soil firmly around before watering. In 3-4 weeks, new roots will form and new plants can be severed, in another fortnight, from the parent plant. Old roots, from which layers have been taken, should be destroyed. Cuttings: Sometimes one cannot propagate by layering due to congestion or some other reason. It may be a good idea to propagate by cuttings taken from terminal growth—about 4-6 in. long. Basal leaves of at least two or three nodes are removed and inserted in pure sand. These get ready for transplanting in about 30-40 days.
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