Carnations belonging to family Dianthus are the gardeners delight. These were introduced in Britain by William the conqueror.
Available in different hues these are quite popular as cut flowers, for bedding and pots. Well drained soil with lime is good for their growth. Raised beds are a must to prevent water logging of roots. High nitrogen is not all suitable for
carnations as it causes excessive vegetative growth leading to fewer blooms. About 15-18” space is required between plants. Manure should be dug deep into the soil with super phosphate (100gm) and muriate of potash (20gm) respectively to per m2. Water them only when it is absolute and top dress them with bone meal 100gm/m2. Disbudding is important if large size blooms are required. These can be propagated by seeds,
layering or cutting. Seeds are generally sown in boxes containing rich soil (also add some lime and sand) with a layer of decayed leaves, scatter seeds and cover them with fine layer of soil. Cover the box with glass to protect them from birds. Layering is the simplest way to multiply carnations. In this method a 2-3” deep fresh soil is placed around the plant. Choose a young shoot after stripping few leaves, cut a slanting notch and press in such a way that the notch is below the soil. In 3-4 weeks row roots will form. Another method is to propagate by cutting. A 4-6” long stem is taken, some lower leaves are removed and finally this stem is inserted in pure sand, root emerge within 3-40 days.