Amaranth family
Amaranthaceae
Am-a-ran'thus. The amaranths are coarse, often weedy, mostly annual herbs. They are widely distributed.
Description
Leaves alternate, often colored in the horticultural forms, without marginal teeth. Flowers very small, without petals, but often conspicuous because congested in a chaffy, often brightly colored cluster.
How to Grow
Seeds require very warm soil to sprout. Direct seed where summers are long and warm. Farther north, start seeds indoors in peat pots at 75° F (24° C). Seeds will germinate in 10-14 days; transfer to raised beds in full sun. Heavy clay soil helps reduce the incidence of root rot. Once it flowers,
Amaranthus
transplants poorly. The species below prefer warm weather.
Amaranthus caudatus
Love-Lies-Bleeding
;
Kiss-Me-Over-the-Garden-Gate
;
Tassel-Flower
. Erect but spreading, 3-5 ft. (90-150 cm) high. Flower-spikes long and slender, often in branched clusters, drooping, all deep red. Tropical. Varieties have blood-red foliage, and green, yellow, or red spikes. Also sold as
A. dussi, A. elegantissima, A. margaritae,
and
A. superbus
. Tassels last for weeks. Tender annual.
Amaranthus hybridus var. erythrostachys
Prince's Feather
. A showy plant, 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm) high, the foliage often reddish. Flowers minute, clusters dense, much-branched and chaffy, red or brownish red. Tropical. Tender annual.
Amaranthus tricolor
Joseph's-Coat
;
Fountain Plant
;
Tampala
. 1-4 ft. (30-120 cm) high, except in the dwarf forms. Flowers minute, in stalkless, headlike clusters in the leaf axils, or sometimes spikelike and interrupted. Leaves sometimes blotched and colored. Tropical. Var.
Salicifolius
has narrow leaves; 'Splendens' has deep red flowers; 'Illumination' has scarlet, orange, yellow, green, and bronze leaves. Also sold as
A. melancholicus
. Tender annual.
