How To Grow And Care For Celosia Cockscomb Flowers

What comes up when you type "flower that looks like a brain" into your internet search engine? Celosia cristata cockscomb, of course! These bright and funky blooms are an absolute delight in the garden and their twisting shapes are bound to get your neighbors talking. The genus name of celosia is derived from keleos — the Greek word for burning due to their blazing colors — while cristata translates to crested and refers to their shape, according to Garden Beast. Botanically speaking, celosias belong to the Amaranthaceae family along with edible herbaceous grains like amaranth and quinoa. In fact, in many cultures, celosias themselves are considered edible ornamentals.

Generally considered annuals, unless you live in USDA Zone 10 or above where they won't have to deal with winter, celosias are commonly found in the wild in Asia where they are more akin to weeds, specifically in China.

Clearly, these unique flowers will add a ton of spunk to your garden, but they can also be kept indoors as container plants and make splendid decorations. A great tip from Garden Gate Magazine is to cut bundles of long-stemmed celosias in midsummer and hang them upside down to dry. For best results, make sure the area is well-ventilated, cool, and dry. After four weeks or so, they'll be ready for use as permanent wall ornaments or mixed into centerpiece bouquets. Red, orange, and yellow varieties cut at peak bloom will paint the perfect splash of autumn hues across the Thanksgiving table come November.

It is generally agreed among horticulturists and home gardeners alike that celosias are one of the easier plants to grow from seed. Three Acre Farm expands on that notion with a simple guide for sowing your seeds. Begin your propagation project in the springtime after the final frost. Once you've got your seed trays set up with high-quality seed-starting mix, head to the kitchen and grab some toothpicks. Celosia seeds are so small it will be near impossible to separate them with your bare fingers and you only need to place a single seed into each tray cell. Per Garden Gate Magazine, they do not need to be planted deeply. It's actually better to keep them on the surface so they can soak up the most amount of sunlight. 

In order to germinate and sprout, planted seeds need a bright, warm, and moist environment. This holds especially true for any warm-weather plant. So early on into the game, seedlings need every advantage to get them through their most delicate stage. One downfall with celosia seedlings is that if they are left somewhere cool, they are prone to damping off. This is a fungal infection that causes root rot. Heating pads and humidifiers may be the way to go depending on where you're trying to grow them. Covering seedling tray cells with a shallow layer of vermiculite has also been shown to help reduce the possibility of infection.

Cockscomb, wheat, and plumed are the three basic varieties of celosia flowers, as defined by University of Minnesota Extension. Cockscomb produces the brain-shaped blooms sometimes also compared to coral. Wheat celosias come in a smaller range of colors and look quite a bit like — you guessed it — stalks of wheat. Finally, plumed varieties grow closer to the ground, topping out at about 2 feet, and their very bright flowers are triangular shaped and feathery. Within those classifications, there are many cultivars to choose from. Let's take a closer look at a few.

• Celosia argentea 'Intenz Classic' (pictured above) nearly shouts its existence to the world with its stunning fuchsia hue.
• Celosia argentea plumosa 'Fresh Look Gold' has long-living yellow blooms in the plumed structure.
• Celosia argentea var. spicata 'Asian Garden' is one of the spike or wheat forms of the plant that mixes pale pinks with darker tones.
• Celosia cristata 'Nana Jessica' is a yellow dwarf variety that will remain small at 6 inches tall.
• Celosia argentea var. cristata 'Kurume Corona' simply stuns with coral-like twisting flower heads that blend from yellow to pink to orange and back again.

Because celosias are warm-weather plants, many of us will be growing them as annuals. This means that each year we'll start a new round of seedlings or purchase plants at the garden center, knowing full well that they will not survive the winter. If that's the case for you, then repotting may not be on your radar, especially considering the unnecessary transplant shock and root damage that can occur even when we're being careful. On the other hand, you may be keeping them warm and toasty indoors or perhaps you live in one of the few USDA hardiness zones (10 to 12) where celosias grow as perennials.

Standard repotting practices hold true for all varieties of celosias. Only go up an inch or two in container size. Use a pre-moistened humus-rich potting soil mix. Ensure adequate drainage through unblocked drainage holes as well as soil amendments like perlite or vermiculite. And, with celosias in particular, take your time with the process. Plantura notes that celosia roots are more delicate and sensitive than other plants, so go slow when repotting.