Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ is a delightful addition to gardens, known for its charming appearance and pleasant fragrance. This perennial cultivar is a popular choice for groundcover or borders. Its straightforward care makes it suitable for various gardening skill levels.
Understanding Dianthus Tickled Pink
Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ is a vibrant cultivar. It produces abundant, hot pink, semi-double to double flowers with delicate fringed edges. These blooms typically feature a darker red eye, adding depth, and have a sweet, spicy, clove-like fragrance, attracting butterflies and other pollinators.
This dianthus forms a compact, mounding cushion of silvery-blue to grayish-green, narrow evergreen foliage, providing year-round interest. It generally reaches 8 to 12 inches tall and spreads 6 to 18 inches. ‘Tickled Pink’ blooms profusely from late spring through late summer, with potential for rebloom into early fall with proper care. It is hardy in USDA Zones 5 through 9.
Planting and Site Selection
Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ thrives in full sun, requiring at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal blooming. Good air circulation around the plants also helps prevent fungal issues.
The plant performs best in well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil (pH 6.0 to 7.0). Amending heavy clay soils with organic matter or choosing raised beds improves drainage, as ‘Tickled Pink’ dislikes overly wet conditions. When planting, space plants 10 to 12 inches apart for proper growth and air circulation. Plant them in a hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide, then water immediately to establish roots.
Essential Care for Thriving Blooms
Newly planted Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ needs consistent watering until established, typically every few days in dry periods. Once established, it tolerates drought but benefits from deep, infrequent watering, allowing the soil to dry slightly between applications. Avoiding overhead watering prevents fungal diseases.
Apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring to support growth and blooming. An additional application after the first flush of blooms encourages a second round. Regular deadheading of spent blooms is beneficial, prolonging the blooming period. Snip off faded flowers just above the nearest set of healthy leaves or cut the entire flower stem back into the foliage mound. Lightly shearing the plant back by about one-third after the main flowering period encourages new growth and a tidier appearance.
Addressing Common Challenges
While generally robust, Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ can face issues. Yellowing leaves often indicate overwatering or nutrient deficiencies, highlighting the need for well-drained soil and proper fertilization. Lack of blooms can stem from insufficient sunlight, inadequate deadheading, or poor soil fertility. Ensure the plant receives full sun and consistently remove spent flowers for continuous blooming.
Leggy growth, characterized by stretched stems with sparse foliage, results from insufficient light. Moving the plant to a sunnier location or pruning back leggy sections encourages a more compact habit. Common pests include aphids and slugs.
Aphids, tiny sap-sucking insects, can be managed by spraying affected areas with insecticidal soap. Slugs, which create irregular holes in leaves, can be deterred by maintaining good garden hygiene and removing debris where they might hide. Root rot, a common disease, is primarily caused by poorly drained soil or overwatering, leading to wilting and plant collapse. Ensuring proper drainage and avoiding soggy conditions is the most effective preventative measure.