The sort totals about 300 kinds, long-term kinds enter into it as annual, biannual, and. The carnation grows as a grassy plant, seldom it happens a semibush. Petals are with a long nail, with the integral or bahromchato-made an incision, gear plate.

The Carnation exacting enough plant, especially it suffers from early frosts, therefore in a moderate strip and to the north grow up all some kinds such, for example, as the Carnation Chinese, the Carnation bearded or Turkish, the Carnation garden, the Carnation Alpine and a number of others.

The carnation prefers a solar places and raised places. The soil should be fertile, not sour, but the flower prefers loams. Doesn’t transfer rehumidifying and especially stagnation of water. Serious danger traps carnations in the early spring when within days the temperature sharply varies: In the afternoon warms the sun, and starts to freeze at night.

Shelter remove after the termination of regular frosts. High-quality carnations very positively react on top dressing by fertilizers, humus entering (it is impossible to apply fresh manure). Unblossoming stalks at all carnations cut off on 10-15 sm from an earth surface. After that introduce complex mineral fertilizer, water, loosen soil.

Approximately in a month new runaways grow, and in the autumn at some kinds secondary flowering begins. In perfect conditions longevity of long-term kinds makes only 4-6 years.

The carnation breeds by seeds. Carnations also breed by bush division (especially creeping away kinds). Seeds sow in May in an open ground or in boxes in hothouse conditions, in January-March. Seeds sprout for 10-14 day. Crops of biannual carnations spend in June.

Myth and Legend about Carnation

In the ancient time carnations called the flowers of Zeus, the flower name has occurred from the Greek words Di – Zeus and Anthos – a flower that is possible to translate as a flower of Zevs, or a flower of God.

The Ancient Greek myth tells about Carnation origin. Once Artemis’s goddess came back from unsuccessful hunting. She was nervous very much. On road she met the shepherd which has played on pipe.

The goddess has accused the shepherd that he has scared all animals with his the music and she has pulled out his eyes. Has passed a few time and Artemis has realised the awful act and has thrown eyes on the earth, and on their place have grown Carnations.

The carnation image was included into the State Emblem of Italy, and the Italian young men taking the field pinned a flower to the uniform for protection from dangers.

This flower was considered as a security talisman of love in Spain. Spaniards managed to appoint secretly appointments to the gentlemen, pinning for this case on a breast of a carnation of different colors.

In Belgium the carnation is considered a flower of poor men or common people.

Carnation’s medical properties

Carnation from time immemorial used as spice and a medicine, in particular for toothache removal, as good antiseptics, for simplification of breath at various diseases of respiratory ways. Carnation’s broth treat eye illnesses.