Facebook Twitter Instagram
    GardenBeast
    • Sections
      • Features
      • Food
      • Plants
      • Flowers
      • Shrubs
      • Trees
      • Palms
      • Succulents
      • Cacti
      • Backyard
      • Reviews
      • Entertainment
      • Questions
    • Free eBooks
    • About
    • Contact
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest
    GardenBeast
    Flowers

    Celosia Guide: How to Grow and Care for “Cocks’s comb”

    Read our guide to Celosia for everything you’ll ever need to know! Tips for planting & caring for "Cocks's comb"
    Hollie CarterBy Hollie CarterMarch 16, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest
    Celosia
    Celosia
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    The Celosia also goes by the names “wool flower,” “cockscomb,” and “the Flamingo Feather.” The Celosia produces some interesting flowers which bloom for up to ten weeks during the summer into the fall. The Celosia is an annual plant, communing in shades of purple, violet, red, orange, pink, or gold. Occasionally, you’ll come across bi-colored varieties.

    Celosia translates from Greek to “Burning.” When passing a field of red or orange Celosias blowing in the breeze, it produces a shimmering effect similar to flames dancing across the landscape. There are several cultivars of Celosia, and not all of them have the same visual characteristics.

    The plants vary in size from six inches to two feet, producing a variety of shapes and colors. Each Celosia blossom contains an array of tiny flowers that produce small seeds at the end of the growing season. The Celosia is a self-seeding variety, and some of the seeds will germinate the following year.

    Here is a complete guide with everything you need to know about growing Celosia this season.

    Caring for Celosia

    Contents

    • 1 Caring for Celosia
      • 1.1 Sunlight and Soil
      • 1.2 Planting Celosia
      • 1.3 Fertilizing and Deadheading
    • 2 How to Grow Celosia From Seed
    • 3 What are the Pests and Diseases Affecting Celosia?
      • 3.1 Red Spider Mite
      • 3.2 Diseases
    • 4 Wrapping Up

    Celosia is a top choice for beginner gardeners. The forgiving plant is somewhat drought-resistant, and it grows well with little care from the gardener.

    Sunlight and Soil

    When planting Celosia, choose a spot in the garden that gets eight hours of direct sunlight during the day. The Celosia prefers the morning sun and shade in the afternoon. When digging out your flowerbed, make sure you’re using well-draining soil that’s rich in nutrients.

    Make sure you complete all your soil amendments before planting your Celosia. Sites that don’t offer the plant good drainage result in waterlogging of the soil and the development of root rot in the plant. The Celosia enjoys rich, loamy soils, and the shallow roots will easily drown if overwatered.

    Adding perlite to the soil increases drainage and enhances airflow to the roots. This volcanic substrate is commercially available at most nurseries for an affordable price.

    The Celosia enjoys growing in soils that have a pH of between 6 to 6.5. The Celosia will tolerate a variety of poor soil conditions, and it grows in sandy areas. However, it may limit the size of the plant and the intensity of the blooming season.

    Planting Celosia

    When the fall arrives, prepare your Celosia for planting. Start with prepping the flowerbeds with the right amendments. Dig a hole for the root ball and line it with two handfuls of compost and a handful of perlite. Mix the materials and make sure you remove all weeds from the surrounding area.

    During the growing season, it’s a good idea to use organic mulch around the base of the plant. The mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil while releasing nutrients during watering. Peat moss, leaf mold, and aged cow manure are all suitable soil amendments for growing Celosia.

    If the pH of your soil is too high, add some soil to bring it down to a more acidic level. If the pH is too acidic, add some lime to make it a bit more alkaline. When the average daytime temperatures reach above 60F, you can plant Celosia out in the garden or start the germination process.

    Plant the Celosia root ball in the hole and fill it with excavated soil. Lightly press down on the soil to remove large air pockets and water deeply. The water helps the soil to settle around the roots, activating the growth cycle of the Celosia.

    A few days after the initial watering, mulch around the base of the plant using organic matter. Make sure you keep the soil moist but don’t overwater.

    Fertilizing and Deadheading

    Provided the soil has the right nutrients and you mulch throughout the summer months, your plants shouldn’t require any fertilizer. However, if the plants seem like they are slow at taking off or the growth rate isn’t what you expect, add some liquid fertilizer.

    Use a water-soluble fertilizer product featuring a 3-1-2 ratio of NPK every other week. Slow-release granular fertilizers are also an option. Make sure you don’t over-feed the plants as it may cause burning and delays in flowering.

    When the plants are growing, pinch it back to create a bushier plant, or stake the stems to prevent them from falling. After the first round of flowers starts to fade, use some pruning scissors to deadhead the plant and inspire a second round of flowering.

    Celosia
    Celosia

    How to Grow Celosia From Seed

    As mentioned, the Celosia is a forgiving plant and a great choice for beginner gardeners. Many newbies find it challenging to grow plants from seed, preferring seedlings to reduce the room for error when germinating.

    However, the Celosia is easy to germinate and the perfect flower for beginner gardeners to start from seed. To propagate your seeds, you can start them indoors a few weeks before the start of the spring. Use seedling trays with high-quality compost to germinate the Celosia seedlings.

    Place the seedling tray under an artificial grow lamp, and keep the soil moist. When planting the seeds, make sure you push them around ¼” into the soil.

    After the seedlings sprout, you can plant them in the garden when the last frost passes. Check your local listings for details on the frost dates in your area. Alternatively, you can start your seedlings directly in your flowerbeds in the early spring.

    Prepare the soil as mentioned above, and follow the same planting technique, leaving the seed ¼” under the surface. To speed things up and retain moisture in the soil, cover the ground with plastic wrap.

    Bestseller No. 1
    Rare Flower Seeds Mix Colorful Celosia Crested Cockscomb Seeds 500 Seeds Garden Easy Growing Flower Open Pollinated Seeds
    Rare Flower Seeds Mix Colorful Celosia Crested Cockscomb Seeds 500 Seeds Garden Easy Growing Flower Open Pollinated Seeds
    • All natural, beautifully packed highest quality, germination tested seeds for own garden, to be given as gift or for long term storage.
    • Premium Quality Seeds coming from small, non commercial farmers.
    • Easy and fast growing with basic maintenance, they blend well with colour flowers and look very pretty just by themselves.
    • Mix Colorful Celosia Crested Cockscomb Seeds 500 seeds
    $7.90
    View on Amazon
    Bestseller No. 2
    Cozy Crib Celosia Plumosa Mix Plumed Cockscomb Woolflower Blend About 300 Seeds, Red orange pink, small
    Cozy Crib Celosia Plumosa Mix Plumed Cockscomb Woolflower Blend About 300 Seeds, Red orange pink, small
    • A bright and colorful mix of unusual looking plants in various colors: red, pink, yellow, and orange
    • An annual vigorous plant with height 20-30 inches that bloom from July and until the frost
    • A perfect balcony or garden plant; it is ideal for flower beds, borders, and rock gardens
    • In Zones 10-12 the flowers can be grown as perennial year-round, if protected from the hit; Grow in sunny areas with good air circulation
    • The number of seeds is approximate due to their small size
    $7.85
    View on Amazon
    Bestseller No. 3
    Rare Flower Seeds Cockscomb Colorful Flower Seeds 500+ Mixed Rooster Giant Plumed Craczy (Celosia Argentea)
    Rare Flower Seeds Cockscomb Colorful Flower Seeds 500+ Mixed Rooster Giant Plumed Craczy (Celosia Argentea)
    • Flowers are large grow in groups on inflorescence stalk in a shape of cone, flower color can be: red, yellow, orange.
    • Leaves and the flower are edible, the leaves are oval can be green, red or purple or something together.
    • Celosia argentea annual plant and used for edible leaves and flowers but mostly used as ornamental plant, can grow in mediterranean, desert, subtropical, temperate or tropic climate and growing in hardiness zone 2+
    • Celosia argentea growing herbaceous of the genus Celosia and also known as Plumed cockscomb.
    • All My Seeds Are 100% Fresh And Processed With The Highest Quality Care.
    $7.90
    View on Amazon

     

    When planting in flowerbeds, we recommend spacing the seedlings eight inches apart for the best results. Make sure the weather is warm before planting, as frost will kill your Celosias.

    Planting your Celosias in June means that they’ll start flowering in mid-August. The plants grow slowly in the first five weeks and take off after establishing a root system in the flowerbed.

    Make sure you keep the soil moist throughout the growing season. If the soil dries out, it can result in the plant dying back or failing to flower. Gardeners should also take care to weed flowerbeds throughout the growing season.

    What are the Pests and Diseases Affecting Celosia?

    Like all other plants in the garden, the Celosia is at risk of infestation and infection with pests and diseases. Here are the most common pests and diseases gardeners have to deal with when growing Celosias.

    When Celosias experience disease or pest infestation, they tend to drop seeds. We recommend using a diluted solution of neem oil applied through a spray gun to get rid of pests. Bugs don’t like neem, and they’ll flee the plants.

    Red Spider Mite

    These tiny critters are hard to spot. However, they produce small spider webs across the leaves of the plants that are a dead give-away of their presence. These pests such the juices out of the plant, weakening its immune system.Aphids

    Aphids can also be a problem for gardeners. These pests suck the juices out of the plant, creating small yellow spots on the leaves and stem of the Celosia. Aphids are destructive, but they are somewhat easy to get rid of with a jet from the garden hose.

    Diseases

    Fortunately, there are very few diseases that bother your Celosias. However, make sure you plant them well apart and in a space in the garden with good airflow. White powdery mildew can kill the plant in humid and overcast conditions.

    Fungal disease leaf spot can also present a problem for Celosias. To keep fungal infections off your plants, we recommend avoiding watering from an overhead position. Don’t get the leaves wet, and reduce splashback to the underside of the leaves when watering.

    For the best results, we recommend getting a drip-feed irrigation system for your flowerbeds. If you find any disease on plants, it’s best to remove them from the garden right away. Place the infected plants in a plastic bag and throw them away in the trash.

    Don’t place the dead infected plants in the compost heap. The fungi will infest the material, and it will infect your plants when you use it as mulch during the growing season.

    Mold and fungi can overwinter in flowerbeds if you have infected plants; it’s best to plant in other locations and avoid the infected area the following growing season.

    Celosia
    Celosia

    Wrapping Up

    Celosia’s are also a good choice for attractive houseplants and patio plants. They do well in containers, provided they get the right care. There are around 60 annual and perennial varieties of Celosia for your garden.

    It might take you a few seasons to figure out which ones you like. However, they produce attractive flowers that have a light fragrance, inviting pollinators into the yard to investigate.

    The three most common types of Celosia include crests, feathery plumes, or flower spikes belonging to Celosia spicata and Celosia argentea. Visit your local nursery or research the varieties online and order some seeds of your preferred types.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleGypsophila Paniculata Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Baby’s Breath”
    Next Article Lime Tree Guide: How to Grow & Care for Lime Trees
    Hollie Carter
    • Twitter

    Hollie is a life-long gardener, having started helping her Dad work on their yard when she was just 5. Since then she has gone on to develop a passion for growing vegetables & fruit in her garden. She has an affinity with nature and loves to share her knowledge gained over a lifetime with readers online. Hollie has written for a number of publications and is now the resident garden blogger here at GardenBeast. Contact her at hollie@gardenbeast.com or follow on twitter https://twitter.com/greenholliec

    Related

    Dwarf Iris Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Iris Reticulata”

    May 19, 2022

    Camellia Japonica Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Japanese Camellia”

    May 18, 2022

    Kidney Vetch Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Anthyllis Vulneraria”

    May 12, 2022

    Autumn Snowflake Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Acis autumnalis”

    May 9, 2022

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Advertiser Disclosure:
    Some links may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these

    Welcome

    GardenBeast is an online publication which launched in 2019 with the aim of providing the latest news, in-depth how-to guides and reviews of popular products to help you make the most from your back yards and gardens.

    Kooc Media Ltd
    Company No.05695741
    International House,
    61 Mosley Street, Manchester,
    M2 3HZ
    UK

    Email
    hello@gardenbeast.com

    Hours
    Monday—Friday: 9:00AM–5:00PM
    Saturday & Sunday: 11:00AM–3:00PM

    As Seen In

    As Seen In

    Download Free eBooks

    GardenBeast
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest
    • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    GardenBeast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
    GardenBeast™ Copyright © 2019 - 2022 Kooc Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Registered Company No.05695741 // Online Resource for Gardening

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.