Cockscomb Celosia Cristata How to Grow Roosters Comb
Cockscomb Celosia How to Plant Dry Annual Seeds in your Garden
Cockscomb Celosia argentea var. cristata is a very beautiful flowering plant that is easy to grow and care for. This plant belongs to the Amaranth family. The plant gets its name from the flowers which are similar to the crested roosters comb present on this type of roosters head. The other common names of the plant are Wool flowers or Brain celosia, due to the similarity of the flowers to the brain. These plants are hardy and are resistant to diseases to a certain extent. The plants usually grow to a height of 1 to 2 feet. The dwarf varieties are also available in Australia. Its velvety flower colours vary from red, pink, yellow, green, orange, and white. You may be able to order varieties that also have colourful foliage from your local florist but they can be expensive. They make spectacular cut flowers used as fresh flowers or dried flowers standing inside a tall container or short vase.
To avoid fungal diseases do not splash water over the flowers and leaves while watering in your garden.
Types of Celosia
The most common types are crested, plumed, and spike.
- Crested Celosia
This variety has velvety flower heads with lots of wrinkles and look like the brain.
- Plumed Celosia
These flowers look like bright feathers. The flower heads are soft and feathery and are long.
- Spike Celosia
They have spiky flowers that are narrow. The plants are shorter than the other two types.
Growing Conditions of Cockscomb Celosia
These plants prefer compost rich and well draining soil. Keep these plants in areas where there is full sun or partial shade to make them flower. They are drought tolerant to some extent, watch the plants don’t get wilted if growing in overly dry conditions.
- Plant the seedlings at least 8 inches apart in the flowerbed.
- During summer, mulch the soil to prevent the ground and plant roots from drying up.
Once bloomed, the blooms can last for 10 weeks starting during late summer. Each blossom has many tiny flowers and each of them produce very small black seeds on the sides of the flowers.
How to Dry Cockscomb Celosia Seeds?
- Harvest the flowers when the edges of the flowers start to dry. You need to get seeds from older flowers.
- You can see the seeds at the base of the older flowers. When the seeds are dry pick the Celosia flowers to collect the seeds.
- Make a bundle of the flowers and hang it upside down in a dark place with low humidity. It will take at least two weeks for the flowers to get totally dried.
- After the flowers get dried, just tap on the flowers to release the black seeds on to some white paper. Collect the fresh seeds and store them for next season Or don’t bother and let them fall to the ground where they will reseed for next season.
How to Grow Cockscomb Celosia from Seeds?
Cockscomb plants are annuals and can be easily grown from seeds. You can plant the seeds indoors under lights or directly on outdoor flower beds in warm areas. You need to spread the seeds in seed trays filled with a good potting mix. Cover the seeds with thin layers of potting soil. Mist the soil with water and cover the tray with plastic wrap to provide the warm suitable condition. Mist the soil whenever the soil becomes dry. Keep the tray in a warm area for the seeds to germinate. Seeds started indoors can be transplanted outdoors when the frost conditions stop. Fertilise the plants using diluted liquid fertilisers once in four weeks to make them flower better. Discard the dead plants during Autumn.
