Pinks Gone

[GardenGeisha]

Neither of my Pinks plants came back this year. I'd had them 2 or 3 years. Do pinks tend to die out? They were lovely last year. One was the highly fragrant 'Firewitch' pink. I'm in Salt Lake City. Did anyone else in Salt Lake City lose your pinks this year. We had so much cold and snow in December here. I had mulched them, but I suspect they couldn't take it.

Is there a variety of highly fragrant Pink that is very hardy and tolerant of winter conditions?

 

[Nyboy]

Not sure about pinks, but I lost many trees and plants because of the winter we had.

 

[Lavender2]

I'm not in your area, but usually the low dianthus (pinks) are pretty hardy. They are an evergreen so it would probably be better if you don't mulch them for winter. I've had mine (zone 4-5) for many years in a well draining, somewhat dry garden, no winter cover... but we get a lot of snow, most every year.

 

[Smart Red]

The many varieties and colors of dianthus DH planted in his bed did much worse. Most died out the first winter and all were gone by the third. I, too, had thought they were hardier than these appeared to be. One variety seems to have migrated from the sunny bed to the yard around it. Seldom do I get repeat flowering from last year's plants.

My best experience has been with Garden Pink Siberian Blues. They regrow and reseed, but are easy to control if wanted. They flower most of the summer, starting early (but not this early). I can see buds starting to form already. Mine is more of the pink shown in the first two images (of the link above) than blue tones.

Oh, and I have one very tiny dianthus with wee, almost red/black leaves and small red flowers no bigger than this smiley face. They seem to have reseeded a lot into the grass near their bed, but are easy to see in early spring so they must not die back. These would look beautiful in a fairy garden, but are easy to overlook in a sunny perennial bed and have a short flowering season.

 

[NwMtGardener]

I had pinks die off from winter kill on their first winter planted, so I haven't tried them again. I love those Siberian Blues, Red, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[GardenGeisha]

Thanks, everyone! You are a wealth of good info!

 

[GardenGeisha]

I mulch with fir branches which give plants room to breathe. So I doubt it was the mulching that did them in. I've mulched them every year, and they came back for 2 seasons, so I suspect it was the long, wet snow.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Thank you sooooo much, Smart Red, for the lovely bleu pinks! They arrived in my mail, safe and sound, looking great, and are now planted out front. I can't wait for blossoms. That was so sweet of you! I am so pleased. What a kind and thoughtful thing to do!!!

 

[baymule]

@GardenGeisha You meet the nicest people on TEG!!

 

[GardenGeisha]

That is so true, Baymule! Thank you for being one of them.