Place your pots in a location that receives full sun for the best flowering results. In hotter zones, morning sun and afternoon shade can help prevent wilting or scorching.
Cultivars to Select
There are many popular cultivars and hybrid series of D. barbatus to choose from.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Albus
For a restful note in the colorful early summer garden, ‘Albus’ provides a beautiful display of densely packed, pure white flowers in large, rounded umbels.
Rising on extra-sturdy stems that refuse to collapse, even after rain, the fragrant flower clusters make an attractive addition to raised beds, borders, or patio pots and throughout butterfly, cottage, and cutting gardens.
Gorgeous as a long-lasting cut flower, the edible flowers also make a lovely plate garnish or a pretty addition to mixed salad.
‘Albus’
Plants reach mature heights of 20 inches and require no cold weather vernalization. Hardy in Zones 3 to 9.
Seeds by the packet or in bulk are available at Eden Brothers.
Jolt Pink Magic
With large and lovely white flower heads that magically morph into shades of pink, deepening as they mature, Jolt ‘Pink Magic’ is a strong summer performer and fragrant as well.
Jolt is one of the most heat-tolerant series, and plants feature strong stems that grow up to 16 inches tall.
Jolt ‘Pink Magic’
Hardy in Zones 7 to 11, cultivars from the Jolt series are most often grown as annuals.
Packets of 20 seeds are available at Burpee.
Sweet Black Cherry
The Sweet series of hybrids are extremely fragrant and make fantastic cut flowers.
‘Black Cherry’ features striking, large flower heads in dark cherry with sparkling white and pink stamens on long, strong stems that last for weeks in the garden or in a vase.
Sweet ‘Black Cherry’
Growing 18 to 36 inches tall, plants require no vernalization and put on a steady show in their first year.
They have good cold and heat tolerance and make a vibrant impact in the garden. Hardy in Zones 6 to 9.
Packets of 25 seeds are available at Burpee.
Telstar Mix
The Telstar series is noted for their well-branched plants with multitudes of colorful and lightly fragrant single, semi-double, and fully double fringed flowers.
Bred for high resistance to the pathogens that cause damping off, the compact plants grow eight to 10 inches tall in cascading mounds.
Telstar Mix
Telstar Mix offers a combination of bright, bold colors in shades of carmine rose, pink, purple, and purple picotee.
Their uniform growth is beautiful for mass planting in borders or edges and the cascading habit is perfect for hanging baskets, patio planters, or window boxes. Hardy in Zones 5 to 9.
Seed in packets and bulk are available at True Leaf Market.
Wee Willie Mix
Wee Willie is a fast-growing dwarf series that delivers a big impact with bright, bold colors of burgundy, magenta, mauve, pink, and fantastic bicolor variations.
With a spicy, sweet fragrance, the adorable compact plants grow up to eight inches and add vibrant color to borders, raised beds, containers, edges, rock gardens, and window boxes.
Wee Willie Mix
No vernalization is required for first year flowers and plants are hardy in Zones 4 to 10.
Packets and bulk seeds are available at Eden Brothers.
Maintenance
During the growing season, give plants a dose of all-purpose, balanced fertilizer every six to eight weeks.
After flowering, deadhead spent blooms to tidy plants and encourage a second, lighter rebloom in summer.
If you wish to collect the seeds, allow a few flower heads to remain and ripen, then harvest seeds in late summer just as the dry pods start to open for seed dispersal – if you hear them rattle when gently shaken, they’re ready.
If you want plants to reseed themselves, leave a few flower heads in place. In late summer just as the pods are opening, clean the soil around the plants then bend the stems over and shake to scatter seeds.