Sweet William

I like fragrant flowers.  I've heard Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) smell nice, and I heard it is easy to grow, even for beginners.  Also, I felt Dianthus is a must-have flower for me because of my Japanese heritage.  Dianthus is called "Nadeshiko" in Japanese, and "Yamato Nadeshiko" (Literal translation: True Japanese Dianthus) refers to an idealized Japanese women.  So, why not?

These are Sweet William seeds.  They are not too tiny, so I was able to count and sowed three seeds in each peat pallet.

One week later, I started to see seedlings.  Stems are very long - why is that?  Is this normal?

Another week past, and the seedlings started to have true leaves.  Very cute :)

After a few days from the picture above, I planted the seedlings in the 6-pack container I saved from other plants I bought previously.  I hope the extra room for their roots will help them grow faster.
 

After about a month since the seeds were sowed, Sweet William seedlings are slowly but surely growing.  This picture was taken today, 10-17-10
SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's SWEET WILLIAM - Double Dwarf Mixed Colors

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: France

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 5-10 days - Mine took 7 days to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 60-90 days

*  Plant height: 6 inches

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: September - April - I planted in September