Dianthus Fruit Punch® 'Spiked Punch'

Dianthus Fruit Punch® 'Spiked Punch': Fuchsia Doubles With a Steel-Blue Chaser

Nobody admits to spiking the punch, but this plant is the prime suspect. Double fuchsia flowers with a deep red eye and jagged edges sit on steel-blue foliage, looking completely innocent. THE CHAPERONES HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Dianthus hybrid
• Common Name: Pinks
• Series: Fruit Punch®, a Proven Winners® perennial
• Height: 15–20 cm (6–8 in)
• Spread: 30–36 cm (12–14 in)
• Flowers: Double, fuchsia pink flowers with a deep red eye and heavily serrated petal edges
• Bloom Time: Early summer, with rebloom into early fall after shearing (June to September)
• Foliage: Steel blue, evergreen, forming a low mound
• Features: Fragrant flowers and foliage, heat and salt tolerant

Where to Plant: Plant it along the front of a sunny border, at the edge of a path or in a rock garden. It makes a good container filler and a sweet little cut flower, and it handles the salty edge of a driveway or walkway without fuss.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Spiked Punch' at the front of a sunny, dry bed with white in spring and gold and ruby in summer. Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Alba' opens white pasque flowers at 20 to 25 cm in April and May. Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb' adds golden threadleaf daisies at 30 to 46 cm from June to August. Echinacea SunMagic® Vintage Ruby brings ruby-red coneflowers at 45 to 60 cm from June to September. Pennisetum 'Karley Rose' arches behind at 90 to 100 cm with rosy plumes.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average, well-drained soil. Neutral to alkaline is ideal. Pinks hate sitting wet over winter, so lighten heavy clay with grit or plant on a slight rise. Water through the first season, then only during long dry spells. Shear lightly after the first round of flowers to tidy the plant and encourage more. Leave the foliage over winter and tidy in spring. Divide every few years if the centre gets thin.

History: 'Spiked Punch' came from a 2011 cross between Dianthus 'Starlette' and 'Devon Flavia', made at a perennial nursery in Zeeland, Michigan, and was selected as a seedling in 2012. It joined the Fruit Punch® pinks, a Proven Winners® series bred for fragrant, double flowers and blue foliage.

Final Thoughts: Put it by the patio where the real party happens. When anybody asks who's responsible, POINT AT THE PLANT.