Wheat Celosia is a dense herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth in the Amaranth family. Its multiple showy blooms reach up to 4 feet tall providing a long season of blooms They are great as a cut or dried flower also. They withstand the fall weather to provide structure in a winter garden. The foliage is dense to the ground and its narrow leaves remain green all season. It prefers rich soils in full sun and tolerates a variety of pHs and drought once established. It is intolerant of standing water. Wheat Celosia works well planted in mass, along borders or in containers as the center "thriller." VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are simple, entire, with pinnate venation.
Flower color
Gray/Silver; Pink; White
Flower value
Good Cut; Good Dried; Long-lasting; Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower detail
Long narrow bloom spikes of rose pink shading to silver-white at the base. Feathery spikes or plumes appear from early summer to mid-fall. Flowers get larger over time so cut them when they are at the desired size but before they go to seed. Remove most of the foliage and blooms can last up to 2 weeks cut. Makes excellent dried arrangments.