Dianthus barbatus Etournelle Light Salmon seeds - Sweet william

Sweet William 'Etournelle Light Salmon' is a variety from the professional Dianthus barbatus QIS® Etournelle series, designed for gardeners and florists who love fragrant cut flowers. Its perfectly round umbels, made up of numerous small light salmon florets, stand on straight, sturdy stems that are easy to pick. This hardy biennial flowers earlier than classic Sweet Williams after a damp winter, from early spring onwards. It suits romantic borders, cottage gardens, cut flower beds, or the ornamental vegetable patch.

Botanically, Dianthus barbatus belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. It is commonly known as Sweet William or bearded pink, as well as 'perfect bouquet' or 'look-at-me'. It is a short-lived perennial usually grown as a biennial: it develops a rosette of leaves in its first year, then flowers in its second year.
The cultivar Etournelle Light Salmon belongs to the QIS® Etournelle series, selected in Anjou for professional cut flower production, characterised by extra-long stems, excellent yield, and very uniform, early flowering. Each plant forms an upright, bushy clump of 50 to 70cm high and 25 to 35cm wide. The stems bear large, globose inflorescences at their tips, composed of numerous small, 2 to 3cm diameter flowers. Their colour is a light salmon, slightly deeper at the centre, and their spicy fragrance is reminiscent of clove. Flowering extends from April to July if sown in late summer. The semi-evergreen foliage consists of lanceolate, medium to dark green, 4 to 10 cm long leaves, opposite on smooth stems. The plant can self-seed. With nearly 900 seeds per gram, this variety is useful for sowing over large areas.

In the garden, use Sweet William Etournelle Light Salmon in tall borders or in the middle of a bed. Pair it with the vertical spires of Digitalis 'Dalmatian Peach', the fine umbels of Ornamental Carrot 'Dara' or Orlaya grandiflora in country-style flower arrangements, or with tall, annual poppies 'Flemish Antique' whose crumpled, cream-white and pink flowers make romantic partners.
Cut when a third to half of the flowers are open, this Light Salmon Sweet William lasts a long time in the vase; in the garden, you can remove some of the faded flowers and leave a few stems to set seed for the following year.