As a blogging gardener, I need to face numerous questions daily. Now a new problem arises – “do carnations like lime?” The answer is “yes.” Lime is beneficial for carnations, and you can’t imagine how gradually it makes them robust and helps them consistently produce fresh flowers.
As the pH level of any soil is vital for growing carnations, lime is the perfect one to make a balance. Apart from that, the calcium, oxide, and hydroxide storehouse lets your plants grow naturally. But remember that lime is not a fertilizer, so you must use suitable fertilizers.
However, after working for days, I have found something miraculous regarding the topic. Just go through the following lines if you want to know.
Carnations: A General Study
Carnation is a herbaceous flower plant known as clove pink, grenadine, or Dianthus Caryophyllus. This one is a species of Dianthus and native to the Mediterranean area. Carnation is highly popular in the USA and Canada, and people of those regions cultivate it commercially because of its spicy fragrance and fringe-petaled flowers.
Groups of Carnation
Here, group analysis is essential because the plants of each group have separate fertilization processes. However, there are two types of carnation groups. They are –
- The border carnations
- And the perpetual flowering carnations
Let’s know about them in brief:
The Border Carnations: This group of plants is usually 1 to 2.5 feet tall and contains hybrids and other varieties of plants. The flowers it produces are lovely, eye-sparkling, and have different types of colors. They are grown on stiff, wiry erect stems and have a diameter of 2 inches.
The Perpetual Flowering Carnations: This group is the scientific combination of cottage pink and border carnations. In other words, the plants of this category originated from crosses between the two. They are a bit taller and stouter; their height is up to 3 feet. Usually, they are primarily grown in the greenhouse, and their production of flowers is almost continuous throughout the year. Traders like the species because the plants offer larger flowers.
What Fertilizers Do Carnations Like The Most?
Like human beings, plants also need nutrients for their physical growth, most of them from fertilizers that planters use, maintaining a systematic routine.
Some people think otherwise, as the soil and air contain all the essential nutrients that plants need to develop physically; why should they apply fertilizers again? But their idea is wrong because not all plants can suck those crucial nutrients from natural sources. Hence the need to use additional fertilizers for your lovely plants.
Unfortunately, carnations cannot access all types of nutrients from the soil and air they need to develop themself and produce healthier flowers. That is why the planters need to use extra fertilizers for them. However, after researching for days, we have come to know that carnations like the following fertilizers most –
- Nitrate of Soda
- Muriate of Potash
- Bone (Ground)
- Clay’s Fertilizer
- Hen Manure
Remember, before planting carnations, you must check the soil first. As you know that nutritional ingredients vary from ground to ground, you must know which fertilizers to choose for your plants. But make sure that you are applying a perfect combination of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium because –
- Nitrogen keeps the leaf healthy.
- Phosphorus develops stems, roots, fruits, and blossoms.
- And Potassium helps plants manufacture and digest foods ideally.
One of my favorite fertilizers (non-organic) is Osmocote Plus. Check the price here on Amazon.
3 Types Of Fertilizers People Use For Carnations
People generally use three types of fertilizers during carnation cultivation, though the amount of application varies from region to region depending on the soil condition. But they don’t go beyond these three types. Let’s look at them at a glance:
- Natural Organic Fertilizers: According to some studies, carnations like almost all kinds of naturally occurring organic fertilizers. This section belongs to guano waste, sewage, seaweeds, peat, slurry waste, animal manure, and the like. But it does not mean that you will use them raw. Make sure that complete decomposition has occurred; otherwise, they will not be considered manure. Limestone, potash, sulfate, and Minerock phosphate are all natural organic fertilizers.
- Manufactured Organic Fertilizers: Natural waste products make the fertilizers in this group by decomposing the waste with bacteria, fungi, etc. Seaweed extracts, bone meal, blood meal, and compost are examples of manufactured organic fertilizers. Carnations love these foods, but you must choose the right brands with extra care. For your help, we provide you with a cart of the five best manufactured organic fertilizers for carnations. Let’s have a look:
| Link To Amazon | Name of the best manufactured organic fertilizer |
| Check Price | Hot sell soil conditioner Bio Fertilizer pure organic manure |
| Check Price | Organic compost fermentation bacteria enzyme |
| Check Price | Organic manure amino acid compound fertilizer |
| Check Price | Potassium humate water accessible soluble black color seaweed organic manure |
| Check Price | Bio-organic fertilizer powder 90% fulvic acid agricultural manure |
- Inorganic fertilizers: Inorganic fertilizers are similar to synthetic ones. They are made artificially with synthetic chemicals and minerals, such as Potassium, phosphorus, etc. Some special inorganic fertilizers are zinc sulfate, urea, superphosphate, sodium nitrate, potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, chelated iron, calcium nitrate, etc. Inorganic or artificial fertilizers have some disadvantages, but they work as medicines for soil. So you cannot go beyond them if you are a carnation cultivator.
Fertilizers Carnations Don’t Like
Carnations like almost all types of fertilizers but not excessively. Moreover, you have to avoid using potassium-based chemical fertilizers frequently. They are too harsh and can be highly harmful if you fail to apply them properly. Besides, they may hinder the growth and production of the plants and gradually weaken them.
Do Carnations Like Lime?
Lime is beneficial for carnations; planters love to use it with the soil for rapid physical development and production. As carnations grow well with lime, people regard them as lime-loving plants.
Lime is an inorganic mineral full of calcium and composed of hydroxide and oxide. So this one is the combination of calcium, oxide, and hydroxide that help grow carnations faster than any other materials.
How To Make a Bed Using Lime for Carnations
Remember, lime will work the best with carnations when you mix a sufficient amount of old mortar rubble with it while processing the soil, and the bed you prepare has to be well dug. First, it should have three layers: make a 2 or 3 inches layer of compost; secondly, create the second one mixing soil and four oz. of hydrated lime together; and finally, form the top layer mixing lime and old mortar rubble perfectly.
Do carnations like lime enough to make a bed using limestone to add lime to the soil? Again, in the right amounts, lime is a blessing for the carnation.
How To Grow Carnations Using Lime
Maintaining the proper PH level of the soil is essential, and ensure it’s between 6.5 to 7.5. Do you know that garden lime can help you raise the level quickly? For this reason, add sufficient garden lime to the soil before planting.
Also, making the soil friable is crucial; mixing peat and Nitrophoska blue will play a vital role. Now you should emphasize the plants’ proper growth and continuous flower production. Though the processing done with the soil will take care of the matters, you must consider other factors. For example –
- To get flowers continuously, you have to detach spent flowers properly.
- When your carnations go woody, you may shorten them physically. And excessive weeds may obstruct their average growth. In those cases, using a pair of scissors to eliminate them can be so helpful.
- Too much watering can be harmful and may not help you get the best results.
One of the best flower fertilizers to buy is HomiGreen Barak. Check the latest price here.
How Lime Affects Carnations
If the soil where you determine to grow carnations is acidic, the plants will lose nutrients as acidity increases manganese and aluminum toxicities. Besides, the situation will decrease pH levels and increase soluble aluminum, which is highly harmful to carnation roots. Using lime with the soil will raise pH levels to 7.5, which is ideal for the plants to uptake optimum nutrients. Do carnations like lime? Yes, in the correct concentrations.
Moreover, lime increases alkalinity in soil and provides high calcium for carnations. As a result, your plants will gradually be more vigorous and produce much more than expected. Here, I should mention that many planters use lime before the plantation and during the winter when their carnations are grown enough.
Fertilizing Process For Carnations
Remember, lime is not a fertilizer, so you can use it along with any fertilizer you choose for your plants. However, here I am going to tell you how to fertilize carnations step by step:
- Before planting them, make a bed in your garden using compost. The whole bed will be around 12 inches deep, and the compost layer will be about 2 to 4 inches. Every spring, reuse the compost making a 2 inches layer all around the plants. You can also provide some other foods slowly to create a balance.
- Select a fertilizer that releases slowly and contains more phosphorus than Nitrogen. This one is very effective for carnation plants. Now apply it onto the top and ensure the food goes at least 4 inches deep.
- You need to use the selected fertilizer every 4 to 8 weeks and continue doing so until the blooming season finishes. Flowering fertilizers can play a vital role during production time. In that case, you can choose a granular, water-soluble, or liquid fertilizer.
The Final Thought About: Do Carnations Like Lime?
Now, if I ask you – do carnations like lime, what will you say? Hmm, you know the answer very well and the reasons behind it. We have talked to many carnation planters and found that those who use lime typically get better results than those who don’t. But this does not mean that you will only use lime as food. Please use it with suitable fertilizer and see the magic during the blooming season.
Did you like this article? I write full-time in the gardening and boating niches (my second passion) and would love to hear what you think of my article in the comments below.