Fruit Punch Cherry Vanilla Pinks

Fruit Punch® 'Cherry Vanilla' is a compact evergreen pink with narrow blue-green foliage. Its fragrant, fully double flowers are deep red with a sharply contrasting light pink edge, making the plant useful where its small-scale color can be seen close up. ## Flowers and garden use Walters Gardens describes the cultivar's early-summer flowers and notes that shearing after the first flush can encourage early-fall rebloom. [The breeder listing](https://www.waltersgardens.com/variety.php?ID=DIACV) also identifies it in the Fruit Punch® series; [Proven Winners' plant profile](https://c5.provenwinners.com/plants/dianthus/fruit-punch-cherry-vanilla-pinks-dianthus-hybrid) gives a garden size of 8–10 inches tall by 8–12 inches wide and USDA zones 4–9. Use it at the front of a sunny border, along a path, or in a container. ## Growing conditions Full sun to part sun and loose, well-drained soil suit this dianthus. The Proven Winners profile describes neutral to slightly alkaline conditions and tolerance of short dry spells. [The U.S. patent](https://patents.google.com/patent/USPP29684P3/en) and [Canadian cultivar record](https://active.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/pbrpov/cropreport/dia/app00011048e.shtml) document the named selection and patent identifiers. ## Maintenance Water during prolonged dry weather while the plant establishes. Shear lightly after the main bloom to tidy the mound and support a later flush.