Bring some pink into your garden with this shrubby, flowering biennial or perennial. Fully hardy below -20°C.

Sweet William comes in shades of red, white, pink and purple - and sometimes combinations of these colours. A classic cottage garden plant, it grows as a biennial or short-lived perennial, spreading colour in your garden every other year, or for a few years consecutively. Great for pollinators, its beautiful and fragrant blooms are the perfect garden addition - just make sure your plant is sheltered from the wind and gets plenty of sun.

Short-lived herbaceous perennial, or biennial

Flower with bushy foliage

Flowers spring to summer, foliage year-round

Scientific Name
Dianthus barbatus (bearded flower of Zeus)

Common Name
Sweet William, Bloomy Down, London Tufts, Bearded Pink, London Pride

Origin
This species originates in Europe and East Asia, found natively in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia, France, Hungary, the Balkans, Poland, Romania, Spain, Türkey, Ukraine, Korea and Northeast China.

Pruning Tips
Deadhead regularly; this will encourage more flowers to bloom and keep your Sweet William looking neat and tidy.

Wildlife Value
Good food for moth caterpillars, especially the Varied Coronet. Also supplies nectar for butterflies.

Positioning
Grow somewhere sheltered from the wind, in full sun.

Water
Your Sweet William will probably need watering in dry weather, especially if growing in a container

Soil
Loam or sand-based soils are ideal, make sure your soil drains well but retains some moisture.

Food
Your Sweet William will benefit from a feed in Spring, especially when grown in a container.

Pet-safe
No, Dianthus is toxic to cats and dogs.

Sprouts Top Tips
Your Dianthus may go woody on the stem, and start to grow straggly, after a few years; if you want to keep them nice and compact, you can propagate by taking cuttings to plant anew each year. Rabbits love munching on Dianthus, so this might not be the one for your garden if you have bunnies next door!