Jolt Pink Dianthus Seeds

The Most Heat-tolerant Dianthus You Will Ever Grow!
Butterflies adore this 2015 All-America Selection winner!
Genus: Dianthus
Species: barbatus interspecific
Variety: Jolt™ Pink
Item Form: (P) Pkt of 15 seeds
Zone: 7 – 10
Bloom Start to End: Late Spring – Late Fall
Habit: Mound-shaped
Seeds Per Pack: 15
Plant Height: 16 in – 20 in
Plant Width: 12 in – 14 in
Bloom Size: .75 in
Additional Characteristics: Award Winner, Bloom First Year, Butterfly Lovers, Cool Season, Cut-and-Come-Again, Easy Care Plants, Ever Blooming, Flower, Free Bloomer, Rose Companions, Season Extenders, Seedless/Sterile
Bloom Color: Multi-Color, Pink, Rose
Foliage Color: Dark Green
Light Requirements: Full Sun
Moisture Requirements: Dry, Moist,  well-drained
Resistance: Cold Hardy, Disease Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Humidity Tolerant, Pest Resistant
Soil Tolerance: Clay, Normal,  loamy, Poor, Sandy
Uses: Beds, Border, Containers, Cut Flowers, Outdoor

Good morning, Dianthus! It’s a bright new day for one of our beloved favorites, now that Jolt™ Pink has come along to see us through summer. This 2015 All-America Selection winner is one of the new interspecific Dianthus hybrids, meaning that it has been bred from more than one type of Dianthus in order to get the best of many worlds: color, vigor, and heat tolerance. You are going to love the results!

Jolt™ is perfectly named, because these bright colors really do give the garden a shot of pure pep. The ¾-inch pink-and-rose flowers are neatly fringed, turned upward to soak in the sun, and held in big nosegays about 4½ inches wide on a single stem. So with one cut, you have a little bouquet for the breakfast table — or a week’s supply of boutonnieres!

But make no mistake — Jolt™ Pink is not one of those groundhugging Garden Pinks your grandmother used to fill in empty spots in the sunny garden. This is a vigorous, well-branched plant, reaching 16 to 20 inches high (gigantic by Garden Pinks standards!) and 12 to 14 inches wide. It is mounded and upright, very showy, and while it makes a lovely container subject, it holds its own in the annual bed just fine, too.

Jolt™ Pink gets its vigor from its breeding — technically it is Dianthus barbatus interspecific, so you see the predominance of Bachelor’s Button in its parentage, along with other species that have increased its size, branching, and ability to withstand hot summers. It won’t set seed, so it channels all its energy into new flower production instead, which extends the season by many weeks.

But it’s Jolt™ PInk’s weather toughness that really impressed the All-America Selection judges (who were quoted as wishing that “every Dianthus could perform like this.”) This is a plant that doesn’t mind long humid summers with afternoon rainstorms every day. It is quite cold-hardy, so short-summer climates are no problem, either: expect it to bloom from spring until frost in cooler areas, indifferent to chilly winds and late springs. And it hotter climates, where Dianthus traditionally melts out all summer long, it may make it all the way through! If not, the second crop you sow to put out in fall will probably go well into winter. You just can’t lose with this powerhouse!

Jolt™ Pink is subtly fragrant; you won’t notice it until you’re up close on a big planting, or leaning in to admire a bouquet in the vase. Yet pollinators of all types — bees, butterflies, hummingbirds — adore the blooms, and will flock to visit them daily. You may find yourself doing the same thing: the flowers stand out so beautifully against the dark green foliage that you’ll find yourself going out of your way to stroll by and admire them. And you have plenty of time to do so, for Jolt™ Pink just keeps flowering no matter what!

Sow Jolt™ Pink in your Bio Dome or seed flat at about 64 to 68 degrees F, in darkness or light, with the dome on and its vents closed (or plastic wrap over the flat) to increase the humidity. The seeds should sprout in just a few days. When the seedlings emerge, place them under high light. (If you have plant grow lights, use them, but don’t worry if you don’t. Jolt grows quickest under strong light, but will develop just fine with a little extra time if not.) They will be ready to transplant in just 5 to 6 weeks from sowing, and altogether you’ll go from seed to bloom in about 3 months. Can’t do better than that! Zones 7-10, but grown as an annual everywhere. Pkt is 15 seeds.