GardenAnnual Flower · 18 varieties
Celosia
Celosia argentea
Amaranthaceae — the same plant family as spinach, beet, swiss chard, amaranth and 2 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Celosia (Celosia argentea) is an annual flower. It wants full sun and pH 6–6.5 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 90–120 days from sowing, or 55–75 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for slugs and root rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 5 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–6.5
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 0.5–3 ft
- Mature spread
- 9–18 in
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 8–12 in
- Between rows
- 12–18 inest
- Planting depth
- 0.25 in
- Container size
- 1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
- Support
- Self-supporting
- Grown from
- Direct sow, Transplant
There is no line here for which parts are eaten, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Moderate
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 90–120 days from seed · 55–75 days from transplantest
- Harvest cues
- First flowers
Planted again for autumn
- Set plants out by
- late Aug typical · zone 6b
55 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
PetsNon toxic to cats, Non toxic to dogs, Non toxic to horses
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celway Red | Spicata | 90–100 | Red | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Celway Terracotta | Spicata | 90–100 | Orange | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Celway White | Spicata | 90–100 | White | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Chief Fire | Cristata | 55–75 | Red | Territorial Seed Company describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Chief Gold | Cristata | 90–120 | Yellow | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Chief Mix | Cristata | 90–120 | Bicolor | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Cramer's Amazon | Spicata | 55–75 | Purple | Hayefield describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Cramer's Burgundy | Cristata | 90–120 | Purple | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Cramer's Rose | Cristata | 90–120 | Red | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Flamingo Feather | Spicata | 90–95 | Red | NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox records this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase · deer usually leave it alone | |
| Fresh Look Red | Plumosa | 85 | Red | All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner · takes the heat · good for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Fresh Look Yellow | Plumosa | 85 | Yellow | All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner · takes the heat | |
| Intenz | Spicata | 55–75 | Purple | Ball Seed describes this astakes the heat · draws bees and butterflies | |
| Kimono Mix | Plumosa | Dwarf | 85 | Bicolor | Sakata Ornamentals describes this ashappy in a pot |
| New Look | Plumosa | Bush | 85 | Red | All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner |
| Pampas Plume Mix | Plumosa | 90–95 | Bicolor | Botanical Interests describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase · takes the heat · gets by on less water · draws bees and butterflies | |
| Sunday Orange | Plumosa | 55–75 | Orange | Ball Horticultural Company (Ball Landscape) describes this astakes the heat · good for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Sunday Purple | Plumosa | 55–75 | Purple | Muller Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase |
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- University of Georgia Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 13 of the 19 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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