Dianthus vs. Sweet William

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kls_01 Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) May 07, 2007

I have a packet of Sweet William seeds...I already have dianthus...noticed they looked alike. When I looked Sweet William up on the plant files, I saw they are close(because I saw dianthus in the ?latin? name...). So, is the only difference between the two the height and being perennial/biennial...or do I have the same flower on my hands? Also, I saw one of the comments in the plant files said that Sweet William could be grown in the shade...is this true? I had my dianthus in the shade, and they grew... they just never bloomed until I moved them to full sun.....Thanks for any help...

Kristie

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) May 07, 2007

Sweet William is one of many, many species of Dianthus. It's full Latin name is Dianthus barbatus. Whether or not it's the same as your other Dianthus depends on what species your other ones are (if you don't know but have pics of them blooming I bet you somebody could tell you what they are). Also, I've had Sweet Williams behave as perennials for me, they came back 3 years in a row at my old house (and they may still be coming back, but I moved so I don't know what's happened to them since then). I had the SW's in a spot that got AM sun but PM shade and they did great, not sure what they'd do if you had them in full shade though.

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kls_01 Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) May 07, 2007

Thanks, ecrane. The dianthus I have are a mixed variety that I grew from seeds....the seeds were packaged by the same company as the Sweet Williams. So, I'm assuming they're different. This is the first year I've really seen the D. bloom since I've moved them...so far most of them are a hot pink...and one white and one pale pink. The SW I have say they are tall, single mixed colors. Oh, also the package for the D. said they were annuals...I was surprised when they kept coming back up. How much AM sun did your SW get?

Kristie

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) May 07, 2007

It didn't get too much, it was in the shade of a crabapple tree on the northeast side of my house, so maybe 3-4 hrs, then mostly shady for the rest of the day. Sorry, I don't remember exactly.

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kls_01 Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) May 08, 2007

That's ok....that gives me a pretty good idea....thanks, ecrane.

Kristie

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