Carnations need help! What am I doing wrong? I have planted them in top soil with some humus and peat moss. They are turning brown & dying. I water them at soil level. They are in large containers. They receive 8 hours of sun light. I live in north central Texas.

 

Dawne,
When did you first plant them, just recently or early this year.
I have had the same problem with various perennials the past couple years if they were purchased later in the season. These drought years have been a gardener's nightmre. Because of the heat, many plants start to go dormant sooner.

Here is some basic information:
Type: perennial
Bloom Season: spring to summer, often even till frost
Flower color: pink
Height & Spread: 1 - 2' tall; 18 " wide
Site & Soil: full sun to part shade; moist, well drained, slightly alkaline soil
Hardiness: zones 4 - 8

You might want to work some hort. lime into the soil this fall and possibly have better luck next year.

fred

 

I planted them in mid June. I bought 4 plants in all. Each are in seperate containers. 1 of the 4 has totally turned brown and died. When I first planted them I put them in full sun. They were beautiful, full of flowers and very green. In mid July they all started to brown in the center of each plant. I thought maybe the sun was too harsh, so I moved them under a tree. There they receive about 4 hours of filtered sun light and 2-4 hours of direct sun. I make sure that they do not dry out or stay too wet. I did fertilizer them once with miracid at 2/3 the recommended strength. Still trying to save the 3.