Fringed Pink (Dianthus superbus) Info
This strongly fragrant Venus plant looks delicate
but is tough, growing in the Carpathians and other mountains of Europe
and Asia. Most dianthus have clove-scented flowers (I had one that smelled
like Red Hots), but this one is very sweet, which makes this plant especially
good for love magick. The combination of sweetness
and delicacy of bloom with toughness is very Venus. It was called dianthus ("divine
flower") by the ancient Greeks because of its fragrance, which helps
bring about a feeling of harmony and ease. Linnaeus' named this superbus
because it was his favorite plant--he loved the scent (Linnaeus began the
Western system of categorizing plants by their appearance and giving them
Latin names). The flowers of this carnation relative have a sweet
nectar that children like to suck and it is a classic in the cottage garden. This
magick herb is used in Traditional
Chinese Medicine in combination with other herbs to help blood circulation.
The leaves and young herb are also boiled and eaten in China.
How to grow Fringed Pinks: Barely
cover the seed. They will germinate in 1-3 weeks at 65-70F/20°C. Transplant
out to full sun and moist soil. This is a perennial to zone 4 (northern
US) and an annual elsewhere. This
plant gets 1.5 ft tall. Deadhead (snap off spent flowers) to
get more blooms. This plant likes to form clumps that look like tussocks
of short healthy grass when it is not in bloom. It flowers spring through
summer. General growing information
Fringed Pink (Dianthus superbus) Info