Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Mrs Sinkins pink (Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins').

More about dianthus 'mrs sinkins'

About Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins'

Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' · also called Mrs Sinkins pink · flowering

Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' is a heritage old-fashioned garden pink famed for large, fully double, fringed white flowers with an intense clove fragrance, borne in midsummer over blue-grey grassy foliage. A Victorian favourite, it suits cottage borders, edging and cutting. It needs full sun and sharp drainage; its heavy double blooms can split their calyces and flop.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Flopping and calyx splitting: The large double blooms are top-heavy and the calyces often split, causing flowers to fall sideways; discreet support and avoiding rich feeding help.

The reasons dianthus 'mrs sinkins' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming dianthus 'mrs sinkins' traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding dianthus 'mrs sinkins' a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get dianthus 'mrs sinkins' to flower

Maximise sun. Give dianthus 'mrs sinkins' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for dianthus 'mrs sinkins' and get the feeding right with the dianthus 'mrs sinkins' fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full dianthus 'mrs sinkins' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my dianthus 'mrs sinkins' flower?

Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make dianthus 'mrs sinkins' bloom?

Give dianthus 'mrs sinkins' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does dianthus 'mrs sinkins' normally bloom?