Published by Brian Wagner on 10/30/25 in “Growing Flowers from Seed.”
Dianthus alpinus (commonly called alpine pinks) are native to Austria and parts of Slovenia, and are some of the precious flowers in the eastern Alps. Hardy to Zone 3, these pinks form a low mat – and can survive very cold temperatures as long as the soil isn’t too water-logged.
In their native geography, they are happiest growing on limestone scree and rock cliffs, with almost no soil – and baking in the cool alpine sunshine all day long. They need very little (if any) soil nutrition, and they’ll last a lifetime. Grow them once, have them forever. They get ‘plumpier’ by forming basal shoots off the rosette, but they don’t spread by rhizomes.
Growing from Seed
Seeds are relatively long lived and easy to germinate. If you’ve been wandering through the eastern Alps and have harvested your own seeds, then it’s your lucky day – just wait a few months before germinating the seeds and they’ll be fine. If you’re in an absolutely hurry, cold stratify these fresh seeds for 6 weeks at 4C (40F) and then sow into room temperature (21C or 70F) conditions with dim light, and seeds should germinate within a week. If seeds have been dry stored for 3 months or longer, you can skip cold stratification and sow at room temperature with light.