Standing atop slender with upright stems, these cheerful bright blooms sway gently in the breeze, adding a playful touch to gardens and floral arrangements alike. The Globe Amaranth is an instantly recognisable flower for its perfectly rounded, clover-like blooms.
Globe Amaranth is a tropical, annual, and interesting pom-pom flower that are great for cutting and drying. The plant will thrive and bloom until winter. They thrive in hot conditions and bloom nearly non-stop. It is excellent in beds, borders, and containers.
Globe Amaranth flowers come in a variety of colours, including purple, pink, red, orange, white, and lilac. It is an edible plant from the family Amaranthaceae (herbaceous plants). It also attracts butterflies. The plant establishes seedlings outdoors in spring after the cold winter has passed. It tolerates a variety of soils and moisture levels. It is native to Central America from Guatemala to Panama and its botanical name Gomphrena globosa.
Light: Grow Globe Amaranth in full sun. Give it at least six hours of sunlight but some shade is fine in the afternoon, especially when it is very hot in summer. If planted in mostly shady spots, they will be leggy – that is with weak, elongated stems and sparse foliage - and won’t stand up straight.
Soil: Globe Amaranth’s ideal soil conditions are sandy loam. These plants tolerate poor soil conditions. Well-drained soil keeps Globe Amaranth flowers thriving. Avoid wet soil; these plants are prone to rot if the roots get too wet.
Water: Water these plants when the top one to one-and-a-half inch of soil is dry to the touch. When temperatures are higher than normal, provide more water.
Temperature: Globe Amaranths grow best between 16ºC to 28ºC, but they flower more abundantly when temperatures reach 30ºC to 35ºC.
Humidity: This plant likes 28 to 50 percent humidity, but need to be watched when it is especially humid as they can contract fungal diseases when there is a lot of moisture is in the air.
Fertiliser: These plants do fine in most types of soil, but if you want to give them a boost, add compost or a balanced fertiliser (N:P:K- 19:19:19) before you plant the seedlings. If you want to add fertiliser once planted, wait until they’re about six inches high and use natural liquid manure (mustard emulsion or fish emulsion). Before applying the liquid fertilizer, dilute it in 1:10 ratio with water.
Pruning: Pruning isn’t necessary for Globe Amaranths, but they will last longer if you do prune them. Cut back the growth by about a third after flowers start to fade or when the plants start to look untidy.
Potting/ repotting: Globe Amaranth plants don’t last long in containers, but we can still enjoy them in pots. Plant them in clay or terracotta pots with ample drainage holes for maximum water drainage. Use quality soil with coarse sand or a soil-less medium such as cactus potting mix. Perform deadheading/ pruning as often as needed to keep the containers looking pretty.
Pests: Because of its short growing season, Globe Amaranth plants hardly ever have pest problems. If you see mealy bugs or aphids on your plants, simply spray them with water to remove them. Fungus, like powdery mildew, may develop, but since the growing season is brief, it’s better to remove the plants and let new ones grow.
Propagation: Globe Amaranths flower from early summer to just before winter. Remember that these are true annual plants; if you remove all the spent blooms, you’ll also be eliminating all future generations of flowers. So save some seeds for future use.
However, these plants have open-pollinated seeds. If you had a pure pink variety, the next round of blossoms might have some purple and blue in the mix.