Dianthus chinensis
| Dianthus chinensis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Dianthus chinensis (common name: chinese pink)
Propagation: Seed - sow May/June in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer or autumn[1].
The seed can also be sown thinly in an outdoor seedbed in late spring, the young plants being planted out in late spring or the autumn1].
Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, July in a frame[1].
Division in September[1]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: Prefers a rich well-drained loamy neutral to alkaline soil in a sunny position[1][2], but succeeds in most soils including dry ones[1].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is usually biennial in habit, but can be a short-lived perennial. There are many cultivars that are widely grown in gardens. Since these flower freely in their first year and then degenerate, they are usually treated as annuals[3].
A very variable species in the wild, it has often been subdivided into up to eight different varieties[4].
Range: E. Asia - China.
Habitat: A wide variety of habitats including sandy forest margins, dry hillsides and summits, forest and hillside grasslands, scrub on mountain slopes, rocky ravines, meadows and streamsides[4].
Medicinal: The Chinese pink has been used for over 2,000 years in Chinese herbal medicine[2]. The whole plant is a bitter tonic herb that stimulates the digestive and urinary systems and also the bowels[2]. It is also anthelmintic, antibacterial, antiphlogistic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge and haemostatic[5][2][6]. It is used internally in the treatment of acute urinary tract infections (especially cystitis), urinary stones, constipation and failure to menstruate[2]. It is used externally to treat skin inflammations and swellings[2]. The old leaves are crushed and used for clearing the eyesight[5].
The plants are harvested just before the flowers open and are dried for later use[2].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea. World Health Organisation, 1998.