Xela's Garden
Pink 'Doris' [V]
Planted '0? Vistabile Family Apple tree bed
Bought at ? for £?
'Doris' is a modern scented pink, . It blooms right through the summer, deadheading will help to keep plants looking tidy and also to prolong the season. The silvery-green foliage makes a good background for the mass of pink flowers, but even when not in flower the low creeping evergreen mats make a good background for surrounding plants.
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Acidic, Chalky/alkaline, Dry, Moist
Height: 40cm
Spread: 60cm
Flowers:
Colour: double, pale pink flowers with darker pink centres
Scent: cloves
The best time to take cuttings is from May to August, when you should find plenty of strong, non-flowering shoots. Put them in pots or in a little trench in the ground in a sandy compost. Loam rather than peat-based is best, or you could use the National Trust's excellent new peat-free mix made from bark and available from its plant centres and selected garden centres.
Keep cuttings in the shade, uncovered. All plants with grey leaves damp off easily and will root faster out of the sun. They should establish in two to three weeks. Keep pinching the tips to make them bushy and, by autumn they will be large enough to replace the older generation.
[Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3290999/In-focus-Dianthus.html ]
When the plant has eight or nine pairs of leaves, it is time for the first pinching. This encourages the growth of side shoots and therefore more flowering stems. Snap off the growing tip, leaving five or six pairs of leaves. Approximately two weeks later, new side shoots should have appeared, sprouting from the leaf axils.
Many growers pinch their plants a second time when the new shoots are long enough to have the top two or three sets of leaves nipped out, once again leaving five or six pairs. Flowers usually appear between five and six months after pinching, so the timing of this operation will determine the flowering sequence of the plants...... Shoots that are left unpinched flower earlier, but less abundantly.
[Source: http://www.herbs2000.com/flowers/cp_cultivation.htm ]
Photos of this plant
Reminders for this plant
Due about 15 years ago:
Take cuttings
Easily increased by way of cuttings taken in the spring and summer months. Plants are best replaced regularly, every three years or so, as they have a tendency to become woody and leggy.
Due almost 15 years ago:
Feed/fertilize
Feed with a balanced fertiliser in spring and AGAIN AFTER FLOWERING to encourage further blooms.
Due about 14 years ago:
Take cuttings
Easily increased by way of cuttings taken in the spring and summer months. Plants are best replaced regularly, every three years or so, as they have a tendency to become woody and leggy.
Due almost 13 years ago:
Feed/fertilize
Feed with a balanced fertiliser in spring and AGAIN AFTER FLOWERING to encourage further blooms.
Due about 12 years ago:
Take cuttings
Easily increased by way of cuttings taken in the spring and summer months. Plants are best replaced regularly, every three years or so, as they have a tendency to become woody and leggy.
Fertilise
Feed with a balanced fertiliser in SPRING and again after flowering to encourage further blooms.
Due about 11 years ago:
Take cuttings
Easily increased by taking cuttings in the spring and summer months. See previous notes
Pinch out
When the plant has eight or nine pairs of leaves, it is time for the first pinching. This encourages the growth of side shoots and therefore more flowering stems. Snap off the growing tip, leaving five or six pairs of leaves. See plant notes.
Take cuttings
Easily increased by way of cuttings taken in the spring and summer months, but BEST IN JULY. See previous notes
Feed
Feed with a balanced fertiliser in SPRING and again after flowering to encourage further blooms.
Due almost 11 years ago:
Feed
Feed with a balanced fertiliser in spring and AGAIN AFTER FLOWERING to encourage further blooms.
