I love dianthus for containers. They come back every year for years. I have pink, white, red, purple. I just replanted some one that had been blooming in the same pot for 8 years! I have 4 concrete planters of them on my patio and some on my raised bed. I cut them back early spring and in July. They bloom until the first hard freeze. This one was under all that ice and snow. Connie