July 14, 2005

A flowering plant which was viewed as trendy in the days of Queen Victoria possesses a wide range of colourful and scented flowers. Zahrah Nasir writes about the sweet Williams and how to grow them

So simple to grow yet sadly overlooked by the majority of gardeners, sweet Williams give a sumptuous and, if you have the right varieties, delicately scented flowers with the minimum of effort.

They are just as equally happy in pots as they are in the garden, either in massed beds on their own or mixed with other flowering plants and are one of the few flowers that don’t seem to detract from other varieties grown in front, behind or simply mixed with them.

They also add a glorious splash of colour when planted, in clumps, in between or underneath flowering or decorative foliage shrubs.

Growing them from seed is easy as they germinate very rapidly. In fact, I’ve had seed germinate in as little as an incredible four days in Karachi, although it takes a little longer, maybe seven to ten days, in the cooler climes of Bhurban.

Sweet Williams or Dianthus banbatus, to give them their correct botanical name, come in many different colour and bi-colours, with both double and single flowers that it can be most difficult to make a choice. Their foliage ranges from light and dark green, cream, variegated green, purple and to an attractive dark bronze.

The plants, which vary from as little as five inches to two feet in height, are also excellent, long-lasting, cut flowers and look wonderful arranged, enmasse in vases anywhere in the house.

Few people seem to realize that dianthus, annual and perennial pinks, and carnation (their much larger relatives) all belong to the same botanical family. All have a similar fragrance. Not all varieties of sweet Williams are scented, however, and one must be wary of inadvertently purchasing seed of the local ones, which are not scented and are much inferior in growth, height and longevity.

The local ones are simple to identify as they have weak growth and the flower heads tend to be composed of florets in a mixture of colours rather than having a single colour dominant and, as previously mentioned, they have no scent whatsoever.

The problem here, though, if you purchase your seed locally, is that the chances are that it would have been collected from these local plants which, or so I presume, may have descended from the genuine sweet Williams introduced into the area by the British during the late 19th century, and which have crossed and re-crossed with themselves until they have degenerated into what is widely grown today.

Many original scented varieties of these attractive plants were popularized during the reign of Queen Vic-toria when the flower was viewed as being extremely fashionable They later lost favour and many old varities almost disappeared except for those which managed to hang on in a number of well-maintained estate gardens, and it is from these treasured plants that many of today’s varieties have been re-introduced through a selective breeding programme from which a number of hybrid varieties have also been introduced.

Quite frankly, I really didn’t feel any attraction to sweet Williams for many years and they were originally only grown in my garden in Karachi, when we lived in that city, when someone gifted me a packet of mixed Victorian varieties and I just couldn’t let the seed go to waste and thank goodness I didn’t.

I am now a devoted sweet Wiliam fan and happily incorporate a rowing number of old fashioned, pre-formed varieties wherever I can fit them into my mixed flower, fruit, vegetable and herb garden. The more the merrier!

Sweet Williams can be grown either as annual or bi-annual plants and, if happy in their environment will self seed all over the place, although in my opinion it is much better to harvest the ripe seed from selected plants and grow your next crop from these so that you retain a measure of control over the colour range as some colours tend to out-seed others, particularly, in my experience, the magentas and the whites.

In Karachi and Lahore, along with other hot areas of the country, its seed should be sown during Sep-tember for flowering the following spring. The flowers will continue, in profusion, particularly if you keep cutting some for the house, until the very hot weather simply burns them up. They both need and enjoy lots of sunshine, but will last longer if grown in a location which does not get the direct heat of the midday sun.

Sow the fine seed just under a surface of good soil or seed compost in plant pots or seed trays and, initially, place these in a partially shaded area until the tender seedlings are strong enough to take the heat of the sun. The soil/compost should be kept moist at all times, but not waterlogged as this will cause the seedlings to rot where their delicate stems meet the surface of the soil and a lot of them will be lost.

Transplant into plant pots or the selected patch of garden when the seedlings reach the foul to six-leaf stage. Don’t wait longer than this or they may become too tall and leggy to adjust in their new home.

It is a good idea to water the planting area or pots both before and after transplanting as this helps the seed-lings to overcome the shock of being moved. As always, transplanting is more successful if carried out in the cool of the evening so that the plants have a full night to recover before facing the rising sun.

In areas of Pakistan which have cold winters with frost and snow, I find it beneficial to sow seed in September, plant out the seedlings when large enough and then forget about them until they flower the following spring.

If seed is sown in the spring in such areas then it will still not flower until the spring of the following year although the plants, being many months more established, may very well produce large, stronger heads of flower. It’s a matter of patience and space in the garden!

My favourite varieties, at the moment as I am still searching for more, include: ‘sooty’ with dark foliage and almost black, double flowers reaching a height of about two feet; Newport pink, which is actually more of a salmon colour with double flowers and reach a height of 18 inches.

Double flower mixed, these have huge, highly perfumed single flowers in lots of colours, each floret having a white eye in the centre and are about 20 inches in height. Finally, for edging a flower border or massing in large round plant pots is wee willie, which occurs in mixed colours, has a wonderful scent and is only five inches in height.

I highly recommend that you give sweet Williams a try and, remember, you only need to purchase the seed once, after that, simply collect your own, make sure it is totally dry and then store in sealed containers. Melted candle wax is a great sealant, and keep in a cool, dry, dark place until next time around.

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