All of my dianthus plants have had a spectacular summer. I recently raved about my Jolt series favorites—‘Pink Jolt’ and ‘Cherry Jolt’—but I don’t want to leave out ‘Neon Rose Magic.’
I’ve written about this one before, but it’s such a great plant that I’ll mention it again. ‘Neon Rose Magic’ grows18 to 36 inches tall, but the plants I grow usually stay in the 18-24 inch range.
The flowers appear in shades of white, pink and rose, and monarch butterflies find them irresistible.
This plant is a perennial in Zones 5-8 and I have had plants survive the winter in my garden, but not in a very long time—our winters have been too harsh recently. I start my plants from seed each winter about 10 weeks before my last frost date in mid-May. They are easy to sprout and raise until it’s time to plant them in the garden.
‘Amazon Neon Rose’ has no insect or disease issues, and you can cut the flowers and enjoy them inside in a vase. The soft colors look especially great with white or purple companions.