Wonderful Wheat Celosias

As I “GOOGLED” the term wheat celosias (Celosia spicata or Celosia argentea spicata) for some additional information for this blog, I saw my blog posting from February 9th, 2015 about “Wonderful Wheat Celosias”!  Apparently I am quite smitten with this annual flower and the impact it has in the garden.  I freely admit that I am a big fan.  The variety both directly above and directly below is ‘Flamingo Feather Pink’, an old classic!  A couple of these photos are in that blog but this posting has a lot of the newer and more compact selections that I’ve seen at trial gardens or grown at RBG.  I categorize celosias in to three basic classifications.  There are the plume celosias (Celosia plumosa) with conical, feather flower plumes and a height range between 12″ and 24″.  There are the “cockscomb-type” celosias (Celosia cristata) which have coiled, soft, “brain-like” flowers and variable heights between 1′ and 4′ tall.  The wheat celosias, seen throughout this blog, have narrow, feathery blooms in a wide range of colors on plants that range from 1′ to 5′ tall.  They are excellent in full sun although they do require adequate moisture and don’t care for heavier soils. These celosias are also excellent as a cut or dried flower and will be visited by pollinators.  The upright architecture of the dense flowers is very impactful and the peak color contribution extends throughout the growing season and typically until hard frost.

 

We had another nice turnout of both staff and volunteers today.  Larry H., Larry O. and Cindy (as staff) all worked on the Holiday Light Show (HLS) dismantling.  Bobby K. was in to help as well and we had some HLS assistance from Dick H. and Steve J. who also had some indoor projects.  Dave T., Ron Y., Jim, Vern and Steve J. were all working on carpentry projects and the creation of some “props” for our Giant Aquarium theme this year.  Dr. Gredler did some painting while Kathy P. helped process cords and helped me with a few items.  We also saw Bill O., Rollie and many others today.

‘Ruby Parfait’

‘Kelos Fire Purple’

‘Intenz Dark Purple’

‘Intenz Lipstick’

‘Kelos Atomic Salmon’

‘Kelos Purple’

‘Intenz Classic’

 

‘Intenz Deep Purple’

‘Kosmo Cherry’

‘Kosmo Pink’

‘Kosmo Vanilla’

‘Intenz Deep Purple’

‘Intenz Classic’

‘Spiked’

‘Spiky Purple’

‘Kelos Atomic Light Pink’

‘Kelos Atomic Neon Purple’

‘Kelos Atomic Violet’