Cancan Scarlet Carnation is an award-winning hybrid that transforms garden beds into displays of fragrant, fully double blooms in a brilliant scarlet hue. These AAS-recognized flowers reach 12-15 inches tall and produce 2-inch blooms loaded with perfume, making them as captivating in a vase as they are in the border. Growing as an annual in zones 3-9, they mature in 154-175 days and deliver the lush, well-branched form that made carnations a floral shop staple for generations.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-9
12in H x ?in W
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High
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The 2-inch fully double scarlet blooms on these plants carry a genuine fragrance that fills the air around them, a trait often lost in modern ornamentals. Their well-branched habit means you'll get abundant flowers from a single plant rather than sparse, leggy stems. Cancan Scarlet earned AAS recognition for a reason: it combines the classic elegance of a floral shop carnation with the vigor and color intensity that garden-grown flowers naturally deliver.
Cancan Scarlet carnations serve primarily as ornamental cut flowers and garden display plants. The fragrant, fully double blooms are ideal for cutting and arranging indoors, where their perfume becomes a feature as much as their appearance. In the garden, they function as reliable bedding plants that sustain color and blooms throughout their growing season.
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Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds on the soil surface or press lightly into moist seed-starting mix; do not cover, as carnation seeds require light to germinate. Maintain soil temperature around 70°F and keep consistently moist but not waterlogged. Expect germination in 7-14 days.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the last frost date, once soil has warmed and plants are 2-3 inches tall. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days. Space transplants 9 inches apart in full sun.
Cut flowers in the early morning when blooms are fully open but still fresh. Harvest by cutting stems at a 45-degree angle just above a leaf node, removing at least one-third of the stem length to encourage reblooming. Cut flowers will last up to two weeks in a vase with fresh water.
Pinch back growing tips when seedlings reach 2-3 inches tall to encourage branching and a fuller, more compact mound shape. Deadhead spent blooms regularly to extend flowering throughout the season and redirect energy into new flower production.
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“Cancan Scarlet represents modern hybrid breeding at its best, combining the historic carnation Dianthus caryophyllus with contemporary selection for garden performance. The Cancan series itself emerged from breeders' work to create compact, highly floriferous carnations suited to home gardeners rather than commercial cut-flower operations alone. Its AAS award recognition confirms that it met rigorous trial standards for color, fragrance, and bloom production across diverse growing regions.”