Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Border Pinks, Cheddar Pinks

Group/Class:  Amazon Series

Brand:  PanAmerican

Description:

Breathtaking flowers are cherry-red with dark-red ring around white centers, above mounds of fine foliage; great for flower arrangements; deadhead to rebloom; pair up with summer blooming perennials and annuals to time a continued flower display

Ornamental Features

Amazon™ Neon Cherry Pinks is smothered in stunning fragrant cherry red frilly flowers with white eyes and a dark red ring at the ends of the stems from late spring to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive glossy narrow leaves remain dark green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Amazon™ Neon Cherry Pinks is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Amazon™ Neon Cherry Pinks is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Amazon™ Neon Cherry Pinks will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Amazon™ Neon Cherry Pinks is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.