How Long Does it Take for a Red Carnation to Grow?

Species Types

• Border carnations are the kind most often grown, either from seed or starter plants, by home gardeners. They bloom in early summer and grow 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet tall, with a spread of 1 foot. Their flower color range includes shades of red as well as white, pink, yellow, apricot and purple in addition to bicolored varieties. Other carnation types include perpetual flowering and Malmaison carnations, which often are grown under glass for either the cut-flower trade or for exhibition. Growth rates and bloom times for these types often are regulated by careful manipulation of light and temperature.

Seed Starts

• Garden carnations, including red varieties, flower their first year when they are started from seeds indoors in January or February. In order to optimize the growth rate, plant the seeds in a seed tray, sprinkling the seeds over damp potting mix and covering them with a thin layer of soil, and place the seed tray in a sealed, plastic bag that has a few, small air holes. Within one week, seedlings should emerge. Remove the plastic bag, and set the seed tray in a bright location. Daily watering of the potting mix is necessary. Thin, or remove, weak or stunted seedlings, and transplant the remaining seedlings to cell packs or other small pots when the seedlings have two or three pairs of leaves.

Garden Conditions

• Optimal garden conditions play a role in accelerating the natural growth rate of carnations. Take young plants outside after all danger of frost passes, and place them in a protected spot for a few days to acclimate them. Plant them in a location that receives full-sun exposure and, if possible, is sheltered. Good drainage is the key to success or failure of carnations; so heavy clay soil should be amended with organic material before the carnations are planted. Besides a traditional, in-ground garden, carnations can be grown in a raised bed or large container. Tall carnation varieties may need to be tied to stakes for support as they grow.

Cultivation Considerations

• Carnations are perennials, and they will increase in size and flowering capacity each year if they thrive. Remove spent, old blossoms so the plants will put their energy into growth instead of seed production. After the carnations flower, get a head start on new carnation plants by pinning one or two of the current plants' long stems to the ground so the leaf nodes are in contact with the soil. New roots will form at the nodes. When that growth appears, the young plants can be detached from the parent plants.