Carnations 101
Are you searching for the perfect flower and getting ready for your next planned event or wedding? Sometimes there is no right or wrong flower but a matter preference as to what fits your needs or what fits your personality. The 101 series is a series of articles helping to educate everyone with the contrasts of various flowers. You may want to read the others in this series as well as many other helpful articles.
There are five things to know about Carnations:
- Carnations are large single or miniature multistemmed flowers with compact blossoms made up of many frilled petals. They are sometimes referred to as “pinks,” because the edges of the petals appear to be cut with pinking shears.
- A fresh carnation should be about half open, and the miniature spray variety should have a few flowers half to fully open, with the others in the bud.
- Older carnations will be fully open, with some of the dense petals curving outward. The edges of the petals may have started to discolor and dry out.
- One specific variety of dianthus is called sweet wiilliam. It is available in the spring and early summer in shades of red, pink, and white. Sweet William is a long lasting cut flower as well as a popular garden flower.
- Large pink carnations cut down and massed together almost resemble garden roses and peonies.
Here is some additional information about Carnations:
Names: Carnation, Dianthus
Varieties: There are over 300 species of dianthus, and hundreds of varieties. The common florist carnations or English carnation is available in large single blooms and in a miniature or spray variety with five to six flowers per stem.
Colors: Available in an enormous array of shades and colors; some varieties are bicolored or variegated. The most common colors are red, pink, white, and burgundy. Carnations are popular to dye.
Scent: Some have a fresh clove scent.
Freshness: The flowers are about half open. The spray variety has a few flowers half to fully open. The spray variety has a few flowers half to fully open, with the rest in bud.
Vase Life: 10 days to 2 weeks, sometimes longer. Although this is a long-lasting flower, be careful when handling carnations, as their heads can pop off easily.
Availability: All year
Cost: Inexpensive
Meaning: A pink carnation is the symbol of a mother’s love and an emblem of Mother’s Day. Other colors have their own meanings: Yellow is for disdain, purple is for antipathy, striped for refusal. White is for pure and ardent love, while red means “alas my poor heart.”
Arranging Tip: Carnations are inexpensive, very long-lasting flowers, so one would expect them to be a favorite. However, they are shunned by many as cheap and undesirable. Carnations can be manipulated to take on an elegant look by massing them together in a tight bunch.
Here are some varieties of carnations we have available:
– Assorted
– White
– Peach
– Cream
– White/Red
– Light Pink
– Pink
– Hot Pink
– Dark Pink/Purple
– Lavender
– Purple
– Burgundy
– Red
– Yellow
– Yellow/Red
– Green
– Orange
– Red/White Cheerio
– Blue (Tinted)
We also have:
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