GROWING CARNATIONS VHT110

Growing Carnations as Cut flowers
Using Carnations in the Garden
 
Learn about growing quality carnations (planting, watering, pest & disease control, fertilizing), different ways of growing them (e.g. as row crops in soil, in hydroponics, in a greenhouse); and harvesting, post-harvest treatments, and quality control.
 
A serious course equally valuable to the home enthusiast or the commercial cut flower grower.
 

Learn to Grow Carnations and Dianthus

Carnations are one of the most commonly grown cut flowers in the world.

This course is ideal for:

  • Anyone wanting to start a carnation flower farm
  • Anyone working on a carnation cut flower farm
  • Landscapers, Gardeners, Horticulturists, Garden Designers, Plant Breeders; with a passion for carnations


COURSE STRUCTURE
There are 8 lessons as follows:
  1. Introduction
    • Review of the system of plant identification
    • General characteristics of the group
    • Information contacts (ie: nurseries, seed, clubs etc)
  2. Culture
    • Planting
    • Staking
    • Mulching
    • Watering
    • Pest & disease
    • Feeding
    • Pruning
    • Protection from wind, salt air etc.
  3. Propagation
    • Methods of propagating camellias
  4. Using Carnations
  5. The most Commonly Grown Varieties
  6. Other important Groups
  7. The Lesser Grown Varieties
  8. Special Assignment - On one selected plant or group.
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

 

What are Carnations?

Dianthus (pinks of carnations) belongs in the Caryophyllaceae family; there are around 88 genera and around 300 species in this family have been identified; there are also hundreds of hybrid varieties.

Carnations are all (botanically), the species "Dianthus caryophyllus" - there are of course several hundred species of Dianthus (Sweet William is Dianthus barbatus.) The perpetual flowering carnation originated from Dianthus caryophyllus being bred with other species of Dianthus - at least with Dianthus sinensis. This type is reported to have been bred in Lyons, France around 1830.

 

This course will be relevant to any of the many species in the genus Dianthus (carnations).