[Overview]
A hybrid garden cultivar, an annual used in flower beds and as cut flowers.
The leaves are simple, opposite and lanceolate.
The flowers are borne in racemes or spikes at the stem tips.
The petals are thin and glossy, with a texture like paper flowers.
The flower colors are warm tones, and some have double flowers.
The fruit is a capsule.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
Immediately after planting, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; once rooted, rainfall is sufficient unless a sunny spell makes the soil severely dry.
It easily runs short of water while in bloom, so while the flowers are open, water when the soil surface dries.
The flowers are easily damaged by rain.
Too much fertilizer makes it leggy and prone to falling over, so use only a small amount of basal fertilizer.
Pests and diseases include damping-off and aphids.
