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Cockscomb Celosia
  • Cockscomb Celosia
  • Cockscomb Celosia
  • Cockscomb Celosia
  • Cockscomb Celosia
Cockscomb Celosia

Celosia argentea
$4.50
Description

A stunning and long-lasting garden flower in the amaranth family. Wonderful in bouquets and irresistible to pollinators. The leaves are also edible and nutritious, prepared like any cooked green. Plants reach about 5" tall or more depending on soil fertility. Very drought tolerant and generally carefree, but like most things, thrives in good garden conditions. We originally acquired this seed from Michael Adler's Edible Plant Project many years ago, and have been growing and saving it for over 7 years. Many years we don't intentionally grow it, as it comes up readily on its own! It's always a welcome friend bearing loads of long lasting gorgeous blooms that are great for long lasting bouquets and for pollinators, thrives in our warm summer months and provides nutritious greens! This plant always gets plenty of attention when visitors tour the gardens. Grow a bunch one year and you may never have to get seed again from us!
Product details
  • About 200 seeds
  • 60 days to flower
  • Seeds grown in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Sow very shallowly about 12" apart. Can be direct sown into the garden or transplanted, and will likely self-sow in the if left to go to seed.

Celosia does not like frost at all, so set outdoors when we don't expect any more cold, usually around April. You can plant this anytime through the summer and fall.

As with all flowers, they will do much better in good quality garden soil that is irrigated. But too much, and Celosia can get really big, and some branches may break.

How to save seeds

These are incredibly easy to save seed from, and they also self-sow readily in the garden.

After the flowers start to decline, which can take a while since they last so long, watch the flower heads from the bottom up. As they dry, you'll start to see tiny black seeds forming inside the brownish material.

You can gather seeds a little at a time from the same flower as they mature, or wait as long as possible and harvest the whole stem before the seeds fall to the ground or heavy rain gets to them. Clip the stems and bring them indoors to finish drying, upside down in a paper bag to catch the seeds.

The only real challenge is wet weather while the seeds are drying. If rain is on the way, bring the stems inside and let them finish drying there.

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