Carnation is a very popular, medium-tall, winter annual that is grown for its beautiful cut flowers. Well-drained, sandy loam soils that are rich in organic matter are best suited for growing carnations. The soil should be neutral, neither too acidic nor too alkaline. That is, the ideal soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.5. If soil is slightly acidic, add lime to make it neutral. If soil has more clay content, add plenty of organic matter to make it porous. In sandy soils also, plenty of organic matter must be added to improve its texture.
Cultivars
Major cultivars of Carnation (annual) are Enfant de Nice, Madonna, Snow Clove, King Cup, Picotee Fascination, Apricot Bizarre, Cherry Flake, Scarlet Flake, Aurora, Nero, Orange Sherbet, Princess Alice, Margaret, Marguerite, Malmaison, Riviera Giants, Chabaud, Scarlet Luminette and Pixie Delight.
Propagation
Carnations can be propagated by seeds.
Sowing Time
Since carnation is a late-flowering winter annual, appropriate time for its sowing in tropical and subtropical regions is during August–September.
The seeds of annual flowers are sown in nursery beds, earthen pots, seed pans or wooden seed trays. The seed compost should consist of one part each of garden soil, coarse sand, farmyard manure and leaf-mould. For preparing the nursery beds, the soil should be dug up thoroughly and sufficient farmyard manure, should be mixed in soil. Raised nursery beds of convenient size (normally 60cm wide and 15cm high) should be prepared. If soil is heavy, some quantity of sand may be added. It is better if the soil of nursery bed or earthen pots is sterilized with 2% formalin. For this, soil is drenched with formalin solution and is covered with polythene sheet for 45hr. Afterwards, the polythene is removed and soil is dried before sowing the seeds.
Before sowing, the seeds should be treated with Cerason (0.2%) and Captaf (0.2%) to prevent the seedlings from damping off disease. The seeds should be sown thinly and evenly as thick sowing causes damping off of seedlings. Mixing of fine sand in very small seeds is advisable for even sowing. In nursery beds, the seeds are sown in rows spaced 6cm apart. Then, they are covered with finely sieved leaf-mould. Watering is to be done with a watering can having a fine rose both in beds and pots. In beds, when germination is over, water is given for proper moisture. Thereafter, the beds should be kept weed-free.
Planting
Their seedlings are transplanted 25 days after sowing at 4-leaf stage. Before transplanting, seedlings are hardened off by withholding water for 1 or 2 days or by exposing them gradually to sunlight. Transplanting is, generally, done either on a cloudy day or in the evening.
Transplanting in evening is good as the night cool temperature is beneficial for the establishment. Light watering every day in early morning or late in the afternoon is required for about a week for proper establishment of the seedlings.
Medium-tall annuals like carnations should be planted at a spacing of 45cm × 45cm.
Manuring and fertilization
The farmyard manure or compost @ 3kg/m2 is mixed in the soil. Chemical fertilizers—20g urea, 60–120g superphosphate and 30–60g muriate of potash/m2 should also be added. Half quantity of urea and full of superphosphate and muriate of potash should be applied at the time of bed preparation. The remaining quantity of urea must be applied one month after transplantation. Spraying plants with 2% urea twice or thrice is beneficial for good growth and flowering. Fertilizers should never come in the direct contact of the foliage since they cause scorching. Fertilizers should never be applied in the pot-grown annual flowers. However, some readymade pot-mixtures can be used. The pot-mixture should consist of 2 parts of garden soil and one part each of coarse sand and farmyard manure. Instead of fertilizers, it is better if pot-grown plants are given liquid feeding. The liquid manure is prepared by fermenting 1–2kg each of fresh cowdung and oil cake in 10 litres of water in a drum for one week. It is diluted to tea colour and sieved with the help of a muslin cloth. It is applied @ 500–1000ml/ pot at 7–10 days intervals.
Aftercare
After transplanting, beds are weeded, hoed and watered regularly. As soon as seedlings are established in beds, pinching is done for making the plants bushy. Since carnations have weak, slender or straggling stems, they need support when they are 15–20cm tall. The stakes prepared from split bamboos are painted green so that they can be matched with the foliage colour of the plants. Sometimes, seedlings of carnations produce flower buds at an early stage. These buds should be removed as soon as they appear. The number of buds/ stem is reduced by disbudding the axillary buds, if large blooms are desired.
Irrigation
Little water is needed everyday up to 7–10 days after transplantation. When the seedlings start new growth, profuse watering once or twice a week is required in beds. Later, frequency and quantity of watering depend upon soil and season. In lighter soils, more frequent irrigation is needed than that in heavy soils. The season of planting also determines the frequency of irrigation. Irrigation should be done at 10–12 days intervals in winters. Potted plants need watering on alternate days in winter.
Harvesting and Post harvest management
Most of the annual flowers are grown for garden display purpose in various ways. However, annual carnations are grown commercially for cut flower purpose. Their flowers are harvested when they are fully open and are sold in the markets. The flowers, in general, are cut either late in the afternoon or very early in the morning. After harvesting, cut flowers should be put in a bucket of water filled up to one-fourth of the volume as it helps in their recovery from the shock of being cut away from the plant. As far as possible, the freshly opened flowers should be cut as freshness enhances their shelf-life.
Since annual carnations are used as cut flowers, proper post harvest management is necessary for prolonging their vase-life. The flowers are graded according to stem length, flower size, flower shape, flower color and freshness.
If flowers are not sold the day they are harvested, to store them in a cold storage is imperative. Vase-life of cut carnations can be increased by placing them in solution containing 10% sucrose + 200ppm 8-HQC.
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