It’s not just the fall foliage bringing bold, vibrant colors this season. Late summer flowers are in full bloom. And celosia may be the most vibrant (and wacky) of them all!
When you think of a flower, most people conjure an image of an aster species - petals circling a center floret. Celosia (pronounced see-low-shuh) is actually a member of the chenopod family, so its cousins are spinach, beets, and chard. It produces velvety flowers in three varieties:
1) Plumosa - Plume varieties look feathery or fluffy. They create shoots of growth covered in tiny flowers.
2) Cristata - Also known as coxcomb, or, as we call them at the market, brains! These varieties create a bright crests which, when blooming in tight clusters, look like coral or… brains!
3) Spicata - These species have short, irregular spikes of flowers resembling heads of wheat.
We grow 20+ varieties of celosia, and Elise is even cultivating her own varieties. When plants mutate and produce unexpected but delightful color variations, she saves their seeds. She sows those seeds the following year then saves more seed from the best, most productive plants. As you can see below, she has a whole collection of orange and pink varieties that are bespoke to Four Root Farm!
All types of celosia dry easily and retain their bright colors, which makes them perfect for our everlasting dried bouquets and wreaths. Check out our blog post from November 2022 for more about the flower drying process. Even after the first frost ends the fresh celosia season, dried celosia bunches can continue to brighten all our homes through the winter.
-Kiersten
