Feathery Plume Celosia

Feathery plumes of pink, magenta, red, yellow, and orange grow on 3-4' tall, branching plants. Also known as Prince Feathers, Prince of Wales Feathers, and Feather Cockscomb. In West Africa, it is called Laggos Spinach and its leaves are widely eaten as greens. In some of these photos, other flowers are mixed in. This variety is the featheriest one, as shown alone in the third photo.

Days to maturity: 90-95

Seeds per pack: 250

Germination rate: 91.5% on 03/08/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Expect germination between 8-14 days, and fast growth after that. At this point on our farm, celosia reseeds itself. We thin plants to about 2' space in each direction. Harvest cut flowers as they mature, and allow side branches to bloom for continual harvest until frost.

Seed keeping notes

Celosia is wind pollinated. Isolate by a minimum of 500 feet or cover the flowers with corn tassel bags to prevent unwanted cross pollination with other celosia of the same species. Seeds are ready when they start dropping from the seed head, which matures after the flower dies back. You can cut the whole seed head and hang it to dry and mature further in a dry, ventilated place, or you can shake it while still on the plant every day or two, as the seeds ripen at different times starting from the bottom to the tip. Either way, shake the plant in a bucket to release the seeds. Use a strainer to sift out the larger chaff. Use your breath, wind, or fans to winnow off lighter weight chaff.

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