Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Bachelor's Buttons Fireworks

Gomphrena globosa (gom-FREE-nuh glo-BOH-suh)

Family: Amaranthaceae Unknown Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Fireworks is a showy amaranth with a long bloom season and incredible drought and heat tolerance. Its height at 4' is somewhat taller than others in this species. It works well when placed at the rear of a bed. This easy to grow annual will provide masses of long-lasting tuffs of flowers to your garden from early summer to your first frost. The flower tuffs are a hot pink tipped with bright yellow, each flower resembling a fireworks display. The blooms sit atop long stems. Low maintenance and its resistance to pests and diseases make this a great choice for your bed, borders, containers, cutting garden, and rock garden. Once mature, they are drought tolerant but do appreciate evenly moist soils without overwatering. It is tolerant of a variety of soil types. Deadheading is not necessary. May be grown as a perennial in warmer climates. Its blooms are ideal for fresh or dried arrangements. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Fairly pest and disease-free. More information on Gomphrena globosa .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 37 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

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.

Fills a similar niche Chaenomeles speciosa Double Take™ Peach 'NCCS4' Lonicera x heckrottii Scutellaria suffrutescens

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual
Life cycle
Annual
USDA zones
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Leaf color
Green
Hairs present
No
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Good Cut; Good Dried; Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower shape
Dome
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Prolific blooms of clustered bracts, 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Long lasting pink flowers, tipped with gold, on long stems.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and swallowtails.
Attracts
Butterflies; Hummingbirds; Songbirds
Play value
Attractive Flowers; Attracts Pollinators; Buffer; Colorful; Defines Paths; Easy to Grow; Textural; Wildlife Food Source
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Coastal; Container; Patio; Walkways
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden; Cutting Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Border; Mass Planting; Specimen
Garden tags
#showy flowers #long bloom time #drought tolerant #heat tolerant #dry soils tolerant #deer resistant #clay soils tolerant
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Drought; Dry Soil; Heat
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.