If you like to get a headstart on the growing season by sprouting flower seeds indoors, try Dianthus ‘Pink Jolt’ for a burst of brilliant color in mid-summer. You’ll find this cultivar for sale in many of the seed catalogs that have been piling up in mailboxes lately.
‘Pink Jolt’ is a 2015 All-American Selections winner that was bred for vigor, color and heat tolerance. The plants grow 16 to 20 inches tall with bright-pink, fringed flowers that are adorned with a splash of fuchsia.
The color looks spectacular next to purples and violets. I planted ‘Pink Jolt’ with some ‘Blue Diamond’ ageratums.
‘Pink Jolt’ started blooming in late July for me. The plants were sturdy, and the flowers held up well against many rounds of severe thunderstorms that ravaged our area from July into September.
My plants showed no signs of disease, and no insects or rodents bothered them.
I started ‘Pink Jolt’ from seed indoors in early March so the seedlings would be big enough to plant in the garden in mid-May after our last frost date.
I’m going to grow this wonderful annual again in 2017, and I’m also going to try its sibling, ‘Cherry Jolt’.