Amaranthus

Botanical Name: Amaranthus
Common Names: Tampla, Cat Tail, Love Lies Bleeding
Colors: Red, Green, Cream
Cultivation: Full Sun
Growth habits: Annual, the size depends on the cultivar, upto 5 feet tall or more
Uses: Used in accenting dried flower arrangements
Regions: Warmer South America, Mexico, Dakota

Amaranthus is a beautiful flower used in several dried flower arrangements. There are two varieties of Amaramthus that can be dried and preserved for longer periods: Amaranthus Caudatus and Amaranthus Hypochondriacus.

Drying Amaranthus
Drying of Amaranthus Caudatus
Large, soft stems with broad leaves, producing trailing red flowering stalks. Direct seed in spring. Pick trailing dark red spikes with good color, on long stems. Older blooms will fade. Hang to dry. Three or four large stems per bundle with multiple heads. Very mature spikes faded to gold can be saved for seed. Often treated with glycerine and burgundy red dye to give a long lasting and durable novelty flower that droops out of the containers.

Drying of Amaranthus Hypochondriacus
Upright red or green flower spikes on soft, leafy stems. Direct seed in spring. May self sow. Try Pygmy Torch, a burgundy, red variety that sells well. Pick stems early to avoid shattering of over mature stalks. Hang to dry in bundles of 5 - 7 stems. Mature spikes can be saved for seed.