Dianthus caryophyllus - 'Coquettte'

rebeccalea1

rebeccalea1 says:

Please help. I have just repotted a root bound dianthus, it had spread out of the pot and is very bushy. The underneath in 'woody', so the green starts about 4-6 inches from root. I have repotted and it hangs over the edge of the pot but I thnk I may need to cut it right back? I am a crap gardener so please talk to me as a child. Thank you. Becci

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Fairygirl

Hi Becci - they can get a bit woody and sprawly. What I've done successfully is to peg down some of those stems into the compost - you can position them where you want them within reason.

You can then sprinkle a little compost or soil over those bits and you'll find that over time you'll get new shoots appearing and you 'll hide the woody stuff. 

Lou12

That's very useful info Fairygirl my dianthus in pots are also very woody this year and I wondered if I should just compost them and buy new ones.

I'll have a go at this

Fairygirl

I'll try and get a pic to show you how mine look now Lou.I had a look but I don't have a close up. 

I had three plants in one big pot, and when I moved here, I separated them again into three separate ones. That's when they looked a bit duff. 

You can do the same when they're in the ground, by burying them a bit deeper and putting soil/compost in the middle, but it's a bit of a process from what I remember. Easier with a pot as you can lift them more easily and play about with them!  

Fairygirl

Here's two different pots Lou.

This one has filled in completely. Just been deadheaded so lots of new buds to come

 

This one still has a bit of a hole, but it was twice that size at least 

rebeccalea1

Thank you so much, that's really useful. I have put it in a pot so will copy you. Thank you