Scientific: Celosia argentea (most cultivated
celosia are complex hybrids arranged into groups)
Common: cockscomb, Chinese wool flower, feathery amaranth
Family: Amaranthaceae
Origin: Native to tropical American and Africa, naturalized
pan-tropically. Exact native location is unknown.
Pronounciation: Ce-LOW-see-a ar-GEN-tee-a
Hardiness zones
Sunset All
USDA All
Landscape Use: Mass border, edging plants, and/or container plants for the warmer times of year in Phoenix. To achieve a mass effect, plant individual plants about 6- to 8-inches apart. Also, used as fresh or dried cut flowers.
Form & Character: Short, upright, spiky, terse, bold, yet diminuative, multi-colorful.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, herbaceous perennial treated as a summer annual in Phoenix landscapes. Medium growth rate that ultimately is cultivar dependent as to final height to 6- to 30-inches tall.
Foliage/Texture: Deep green, small, linear to lanceolate-ovate leaves, 1- to 4-inches long, alternate; medium texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Flowers in dense terminal clusters, mostly as a dense chaffy spike; fruit inconspicuous.
Seasonal Color: Flowers anytime during the warm season in colors ranging from yellow to dark crimson.
Temperature: Best in the 70o to 105oF range, will tolerate cooler weather, but is frost sensitive.
Light: Full sun to partial shade. Avoid western exposures.
Soil: Landscape soils for cockscomb MUST be well-drained, fertile, and have a high organic content. In sandy and/or infertile soils, leaf clorosis is common.
Watering: Regular and frequent, drought intolerant in desert landscape gardens
Pruning: None, except to remove spent flowers.
Propagation: Seed which germinate in five days, cutting.
Disease and Pests: Red spider mites, white fly, powdery mildew and botrytis on flowers.
Additional comments: Cultivated cockscomb are mostly polyploid hybrids. The genus Celosia contains about 60 known species native to tropical regions around the world. Cockscomb are best used in landscapes when massed
together.
Cultivated celosia groups include: