Overall Plant
Common Name: globe amaranth
Type: Annual
Family: Amaranthaceae
Zone: 2 to 11
Height: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to frost
Bloom Description: Pink
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil
Culture
Easily grown in evenly moist, well-drained soil in full sun. Tolerant of drier soils and short periods of drought once established. Easily grown from seed though germination rates can be low. Hardy in Zones 9-11. Grown as an annual in colder climates but can readily reseed in the garden given the right conditions.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Gomphrena is a genus of around 100 species of herbaceous annuals, perennials, and subshrubs native to tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America and the Pacific Islands. Most species have characteristic terminal, rounded inflorescences with colorful, thin, paper-like bracts. Many cultivated hybrids are available, most resulting from crosses between G. globosa and various other species including G. haageana, G. pulchella, and G. macrocephala. Most feature long bloom-times and tall upright, freely-branched growth habits. Bloom colors include shades of white, pink, red, orange, and purple. The flowers are highly attractive to butterflies.
Genus name comes from the Latin name for a kind of amaranth usually grown as a dried flower.
The common name globe amaranth refers to the shape of the inflorescences.
FOREST PINK is a hybrid globe amaranth that features round, 1" wide, bright pink flowers atop upright, airy stems. Mature plants will reach up to 2' tall with a 1' spread. The bloom period lasts from early summer to frost.
Problems
Watch for powdery mildew, leaf spot diseases, and botrytis. Deer tend to avoid this plant.
Uses
Annual for containers and mixed border fronts. A long lasting cut flower for fresh or dried arrangements.