Common name: Sweet William
Dianthus Barbatus
Family of plants: Caryophyllaceae
Native to: southern Europe, China, South Russia, Alaska Light requirements: sunny, partial shade
Skill level: Beginner Cut Flower: YES Dried Flower: NO Fragrant: YES, spicy
HARDINESS: biennial, perennial Height: up to 60 cm (up to 24 inches)
Time to plant seeds: early spring Propagation: seed, cuttings and stocking
Flowering period: May to July Edible: YES (presumably, when grown organically)
A colorful, scented cottage garden favorite, which lends itself beautifully to cut flower arrangements; Sweet William is one of the firs flowers to be grown in greenhouses. It is native to southern Europe, where you can admire its wild cousins growing freely in the fields from the Pyrenees to the Carpathians. It can also be found in China, South Russia and Alaska. It was introduced to northern Europe at the beginning of the 16th century; right around the time it became known in North America as well, where it quickly became extremely popular.
As the flowers of Sweet Williams are considered to be edible, it was used for flavor wine in France as well as Spain. In Victorian England, the flower was considered to be a symbol of chivalry.
Its popularity is largely due to two factors: one the one hand it is fairly easy to grow, it is not pretentious as far as soil is concerned and it can g by with only one watering a week; on the other, its long, strong stem and spicy scent make it ideal for cut flower bouquet.
It is a stunning accessory of flowerbeds and stone gardens, combined with hardy perennials. It can be direct sown into the ground, seedlings will most likely make their appearance in a maximum of two weeks, provided the tempereature is at around 15°C.
As a biennial, if planted at the end of May, it will flower come following spring. It can also be propagated by cuttings and stocking. In order to bloom it will need a minimum of 4-5 hours of sunlight. Its petals gather in a tight cluster, its clove scent appeals to butterflies and bees alike. Its lance-shaped, bluish-green leaves can be as long as 10 cm and 2 cm wide.
Sweet William comes in many colors and combinations of colors, such as white, pink, red and all of the above mixed together. The intensely colored Scarlet Fever and the deep red Scarlet Beauty, the hybrid Bloomy dawn, the Bearded Pink and my personal favorite, the white a Dianthus Barbatus Albus, are among the most known, but by far not the only ones.
