Maiden pinks supply green foliage in winter and flowers in United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9 and 10 in spring, summer and autumn, even though they are hardy to zone 3. This yearlong series makes them a suitable selection for improving the curb appeal of your lawn and adding more color to your flower borders. Grow the pinks from seed about eight months before transplanting so that your garden may benefit from the instant addition of color come planting time.
Growing Seeds
Fill a seed-starting mixture that is apartment using a moistened potting. Place the tray.
Sow the pink seeds on the surface of the potting mixture. Place seeds in rows down the length of the flat, spacing the rows 2 inches apart.
So they’re in full contact with the soil beneath press on the seeds with your fingertips. So that they are covered, sprinkle a layer of potting mix on top of the seeds. Mist the mix with water’s surface.
Cover the apartment with a plastic bag. The tote retains the warmth and moisture from the potting mixture during germination.
Place the apartment in a location where temperatures remain around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Maiden pink seeds usually germinate in 10 to 21 days.
Remove once the sprouts appear. Move the apartment to a location at which the seedlings receive six to eight hours of sunlight. When the surface feels dry, water the potting mix.
Garden Care
Plant the seedlings in the garden in mid- to late-spring when soil temperatures reach 65 degrees Fahrenheit and the winter season is beyond. Plant the seedlings at a well-drained bed at the identical depth they had been in the apartment. Space the plants 10 inches apart in all directions.
Water maiden pinks weekly from summer, the spring and autumn when they’re actively flowering. Provide roughly 1 inch of water either by irrigation or by rain. Maiden pinks can blossom through winter but require watering during this wetter season.
The plants are backed by cut after the first flush of flowering, with shears by half of their height. Continue to cut the plants back after every complete flowering flush finishes to keep the plants intact and to stop them.
Distribute a 1- to 2-inch layer of compost over the bed in summer. The mulch prevents weed growth and retains the moisture from evaporating throughout the warmer days of August and July.
Fertilize maiden pinks in spring when the flower buds look. Apply a balanced slow-release fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 blend, at the rate recommended on the package for flowering perennials.