Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  Border Pinks, Cheddar Pinks

Group/Class:  Whetman Star Series

Description:

Vivid flowers are bright red with deep dark red centers, above mounds of fine foliage; great for flower arrangements; deadhead to rebloom; pair up with summer blooming perennials and annuals to time a continued flower display

Ornamental Features

Eastern Star Pinks is smothered in stunning fragrant red frilly flowers with dark red centers at the ends of the stems from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive narrow leaves remain bluish-green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Eastern Star Pinks is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Eastern Star Pinks is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Eastern Star Pinks will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 5 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average conditions that are neither too wet nor too dry. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Eastern Star Pinks is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.