Carnations in the landscape?

I don't know much about flowers but wondering if the carnation is the way to go for me. They come in virtually every color and I know as a cut flower they are always the longest lasting in the vase.

What I don't know is:

Will they grow well in zone 9?
Are there any varieties with a scent?
How long do they bloom?
And....what do I need to know to get started and add them to a raised landscape bed....?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

I've been waiting for someone to reply to you, so maybe I could learn something. Since no one has, I'll tell you the little bit I know. I am a beginner. I planted carnation seeds last winter in the house. When spring came, after the frost, I replanted them outside. I did get carnations the first year, which surprised me. I planted them in full to part sun. The flowers were little and not as pretty as the ones you would buy. But, they did smell good. The blooms didn't last very long. But then again I have rabbits and squirrels that enjoy my flowers more than I do I think. I hope this helps a little. I had seeds that I picked up at Walmart, nothing special. tammy

thank you!

Tir~ There are some that have a very nice clove scent, and come in different colors , some with variegated patterns, some solids. They are very easy to grow. I planted my in Fall, ( but I'm several zones from you)and they bloomed the following Spring. Their blooms are long lasting and plentiful. If you shear them when the blooms are deteriorating, they will rebloom for you, reshear again and you'll get blooms for Fall. Just keep them groomed to remove the yellowed foliage plants that are older or wind burnt. In early winter, or for you when when cold temps are predicted, cover with a thick layer of mulch, then remove the mulch in Spring, when the tulips and daffodils bloom. You can buy solid colors or mixed colors at your local Walmart or big box. They are also called " Pinks" They multiply nicely and you can divide them to make a nice edging border or grow them in clumps whichever is your preference. Just from my experience.

Hi Tir, the Carnation family is huge, there are perpetual flowering ones that are the ones the florists usually sell, they are easy to grow, but, they do need a lot of attention as far as removing flower buds etc so that only one flower is allowed to grow per stem, there are the sweat Williams that some folks grow as annuals but in fact they are perennials and for some, they come back each year, there are tiny ones that will grow in rockeries and there are some old fashioned ones that smell of cloves and will spread out to form a wide plant.
If you wish to have some that are to suit a specific area, I would go along to your library or book store for some books on Carnations or get in touch with a carnation growers group/club who will give you their expert help on choosing the type you want, non of them are difficult to grow IF you have the right conditions for them, they like a little amount of lime within the soil and plenty farmyard manure or good compost, you need to deadhead the flowers as they fade or they will produce too many seed-heads at the cost of flowers over the longer season, if you wish larger flowers, you need to remove some of the flower buds when they are tiny so all the energy goes into the one flower, you also have to keep a close watch for greenfly and also earwigs love to eat into the flowers, they also like to shelter in daytime inside the open flowers and surprise you as you pick your treasured blooms, when you pick the flowers for the house, cut them just as the colour is showing on the blooms and they will last longer inside, also remove all the foliage as it causes the water to smell fowl after a day or so. hope this also helps you a bit and good luck, they are one of my all time favourite flowers in a garden, unfortunately I cant grow them in my place, after several attempts, it was evident that my soil is too acidic, they only lasted the one year boooohooo.
WeeNel.