Amaranthus ‘Dreadlocks’
This one was a bit of a slow-burn compared with the other amaranthus but it did at least make mound of leaves before it bothered to bloom, unlike the others I grew so now each plant is about 1m high and most are at least 60cm wide. I think the nicest way to describe them is ‘robust’ though you could easily say ‘coarse’ and get away with it. I haven’t tried eating the leaves though, like all amaranthus they are edible. But this is grown for the flowers which resemble the common love-lie-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) but are more ‘bobbly’. There are lots of flower clusters on each plant and, if autumn turns out better than summer was, I am hoping they will stay colourful right through October.
This is an annual and was sown in spring and transplanted into cells and then planted out in late May.
It lasts well in water if you strip the leaves off and I am hoping to dry some too.
Geoff’s rating
8/10
Garden rating
7/10
Looks interesting. Always good to have some dried flower material.