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
• Plant Patent: USPP 28,635 / Can PBR 5,817

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: Trollius 'Lemon Supreme' opens pale yellow globes in May and June, just as the pink pinks get started. In midsummer, Allium 'Serendipity' adds rounded purple heads from July to August at 38 to 51 cm. Anemone Frilly Knickers™ finishes the year with white flowers from August to October. Plant them together in sun or part sun for a tidy, season-long edge.

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.