Hi Lovelies,
It’s beginning to feel a lot like fall here. I’m not necessarily a big fan of the weather getting cooler, but it’s a nice change of pace since I’m already thinking about planting things for next year. One of the tasks this week has been clearing out some of the beds to get ready for hardy annuals. Since I only have limited space, it has to be done – unfortunately. ‘Kurume’ celosia was a harvest that I was seriously looking forward to.
There are several types of celosia, sporting different shapes and colors. ‘Kurume’ is a comb (cistata/cockscomb) type, but I like to describe them as “fuzzy brains” when I talk to people who don’t know any of those fancy flower words. When I began my farm journey, celosia was simply something I wasn’t interested in growing. But, after I gave it a try, (like always) I fell in love with it. It’s not that the blooms are specifically something memorable, but I think that the texture is completely lovely.
This variety is allegedly branching, but since I didn’t pinch them early on, I didn’t experience this. Instead, I was thrilled to see huge blooms sitting atop a single stem. I was happy to find that I’d received a fairly even distribution of four different colors: yellow/gold, red/scarlet, orange/peach, and pink/rose. Admittedly, I’d have a pretty difficult time picking just one favorite!
I direct sowed my seeds after my last frost, 9″ apart. Germination was fantastic, and the plants proved to be quite robust in my concrete, un-amended river clay. In fact, even after a lot of thinning, I had more than one plant in each planting hole – it’s okay to judge me, I just really don’t like throwing out perfectly good seedlings!
I’ll definitely be growing ‘Kurume’ next year. The flowers last wonderfully in the vase, have great stem length, and are extremely easy to grow from seed. I can only see my enthusiasm for celosias growing in the future!
What are your experiences with celosia? Do you love them? Hope you’re having a wonderful day! Feel free to like, comment, and follow! Much love!
I too hate wasting seedlings which is why I now have beetroot planted in corners all over the garden.
Stunning, and they do look like brains. Jackie picks seedlings out of the paths and replants them elsewhere.
Absolutely beautiful flowers. I think I killed one once. Living in the North west US, I cannot grow tropical flowers. Or perhaps you are an ag zone or two warmer than I am. Anyway – love the photos!
I’ve heard that a lot of people in the northwest have to grow celosia in hoophouses for some extra heat! I’m in zone 7, but the weather can be extreme. Last winter our low was -11 one night (a record!), but it’s not unusual for the thermometer to hit 100 in the summer. These plants absolutely love it!
Ooh, thanks for the tip. Perhaps if I put celosia on the south side of the house, it might be protected from extreme cold. I do like the flower a lot. And now that I hear it is a good cut flower, that is another vote in its favor.