Plant Library

Other Names:  Sand Pinks

Description:

This beautiful fragrant variety has a sweet aroma; pure white flowers with fringed edges held over blue-green, grass-like foliage on compact plants; great for borders, rock gardens, and containers; remove spent flowers to promote re-blooming

Ornamental Features

Little Maiden Pinks has masses of beautiful fragrant white frilly flowers at the ends of the stems from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. Its attractive grassy leaves remain bluish-green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Little Maiden 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 is a relatively low maintenance plant, 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.

Little Maiden Pinks is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Little Maiden Pinks will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 12 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 8 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 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 8 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 to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Little Maiden 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.