I continue to grow this dianthus that I first added to my Garden Winners list back in 2008–in fact I just ordered a pack of seeds so I could start plants for my 2020 garden. Dianthus are great because they are disease-resistant and they bloom just a little bit later in the growing season. That means there’s something fresh and pretty to enjoy at a time when many other plants are starting to look a little tired.
In the last few years I’ve fallen in love with the Jolt series, but ‘Amazon Neon Rose’ continues to be a reliable favorite. Here’s what I said about it in 2008:
My garden looks pretty sad right now, but my Dianthus ‘Amazon Neon Rose Magic’ plants are bucking the trend. Their foliage is green, shiny and healthy and the plants continue to churn out beautiful clusters of spicy pink, white and rose flowers.
‘Amazon Neon Rose Magic’ grows 18-36 inches tall, and if deadheaded will bloom from July until a hard freeze. I grow mine from seed each year, but the plant is actually a perennial in Zones 5-9. I’m barely in Zone 5, but all of my plants returned this spring because we had a consistent snow cover last winter.
My plants have never shown any sign of disease and are a big hit with migrating Monarchs and hummingbirds in the late summer and fall.
