Maiden pink

Maiden pink: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Low, creeping mat 15–25 cm tall in flower and 30–50 cm wide; trailing stems root here and there.

Leaves

Narrow and linear, 1–2.5 cm long, green to dark green, sometimes tinged red; largely stays through winter.

Flowers

Flat, single flowers of 1.5–2 cm with five toothed petals, alone or a few together on thin stems.

Colour

Pink to carmine red with a dark ring and pale speckles; there is also a white form.

Roots

Finely branched and fairly shallow.

Flowering: June–September · Sowing: March–May · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: July and September

Why grow it?

• A native plant that suits a natural garden and the wild flora of sandy soils.
• Flowers for almost four months, from June to September.
• Forms a dense, low mat that keeps weeds down in dry, sunny places.
• Butterflies and bees visit the flowers.
• Fully hardy and drought-tolerant: needs very little care.
• Ideal for a rock garden, gravel garden, border edge, low wall or trough.

Maiden pink: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it flowers poorly and the mat opens up.
• Poor, free-draining sandy or light loamy soil, acid to neutral.
• Dry to moderately dry; standing water in winter is fatal.
• No fertiliser or compost: on rich soil it grows soft and is shorter-lived.
• Plant 25–30 cm apart, about 12 plants per m² as ground cover.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.2 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -35 °C)

Goes well with

• Wild thyme: Also native, also a mat-former on dry sand and an excellent bee plant.
• Harebell: Blue bells above the pink flowers, in the same poor soil.
• Biting stonecrop: Yellow stars in June, for the very driest spots.
• Blue fescue: Fine, blue-grey tufts that add structure between the mats.

Maiden pink: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or in September–October.
2. Loosen the soil and, in heavier ground, mix in some coarse sand or fine gravel.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in the pot, no deeper: the crown must not be buried.
4. Space plants 25–30 cm apart.
5. Water when planting and during dry weather for the first few weeks.
6. If you like, spread a little fine gravel around the plants: it keeps the crown dry and weeds away.

Care

Water

Only while it establishes. After that it copes with long dry spells.

Feeding

Not needed: poor soil gives compact plants and more flowers.

Deadheading

After the first flush, cut off the faded stems: it will keep flowering for longer.

Weeding

Pull out grasses growing into the mat in good time, as it tolerates little competition.

Renewal

It is not very long-lived. Let it self-seed a little or take cuttings so you can replace old, bare plants.

Tip: After the last flowers, let a few stems set seed: it will self-seed gently and so replace the older, bare patches in the mat by itself.

Maiden pink: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July and September.

When: Lightly after the first flush in July, and again after the last flowers in September.

How:

• In July, cut faded flower stems back to just above the mat: it stays compact and keeps flowering.
• In September, after the last flowers, lightly shear the mat without cutting into the bare stems.
• Leave a few flower stems if you want it to self-seed.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Indoors in March–April or outdoors in April–May, only just covering the seed. Prick out seedlings into small pots and plant them out in autumn or the following spring.

Cuttings

In July, take 5 cm cuttings from non-flowering shoots and root them in sandy cutting compost.

Division

In spring or September, lift a piece of the mat with roots and replant it elsewhere.

Maiden pink: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −35 °C.

• Very hardy, to about −35 °C: in Belgium it never needs protection.
• Wet soil is the biggest danger: make sure water never stands around it.
• In a trough or pot: add a drainage layer and keep it out of the worst rain.
• Clear fallen tree leaves off the mat, or it will rot underneath.

Diseases and pests

• Winter rot: Brown, rotting patches in the mat, especially in wet soil. Improve drainage with gravel and replace dead patches with cuttings.
• Bare, open mat: Caused by age or soil that is too rich. Cut back after flowering and replace old plants after a few years.
• Slugs: Eat young shoots in spring. Gravel around the plants helps; pick them off in the evening.
• Aphids: On young shoots and buds. Hose them off or let ladybirds deal with them.

Through the year

• March: Plant. Sow indoors. Clear fallen leaves off the mat.
• April: Plant. Sow outdoors. Divide.
• May: Buds forming. Weed grass out of the mat.
• June: Flowering begins.
• July: Cut off faded stems. Take cuttings.
• August: In flower. Butterflies and bees visiting.
• September: Last flowers, then shear lightly. Plant.
• October: Plant. Divide.
• November: Clear fallen tree leaves off the mat.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• The genus name Dianthus comes from Greek and means ‘flower of Zeus’ or ‘divine flower’.
• The flowers have a long, narrow calyx tube: mainly butterflies, with their long tongues, can reach the nectar.
• In the wild it has become rare in Flanders, as poor, sandy grasslands disappear through fertiliser use and building.