How to Grow and Care for Celosia Flowers | Gardener's Path

07.06.2023 - 18:33 / gardenerspath.com / Matt Suwak

I was working in a garden center when an older gentleman with a fishing hat on (I knew it was fishing hat because he had his license pinned to the back of it) came searching for a flower.

“It’s orange. No… it’s red… I’ve seen it in purple, too,” he explained.

I shook my head. “Quite a few options here. What else can you add?”

“Uh,” he began, “Oh! The flowers are real weird lookin’. Some look like flames and others look like coral.”

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I squinted while thinking about it. “Hmm, I’m not quite–”

The gentleman’s eyes lit up and he said, “Oh, wait! They look like they’re from a Dr. Seuss book!”

Now my eyes lit up and I said, “Oh, celosia! Here we go!”

I escorted the customer to the right section of the store and sure enough, we’d found the flowers he was looking for. All he had to say was “Dr. Seuss flower” and I’m sure anyone familiar with celosia would have instantly known what he was referring to.

Celosia, commonly known as “woolflowers,” are members of the amaranth family. They are edible ornamentals you can add to your garden, and have a taste not unlike spinach. Celosia also contains those minerals and vitamins commonly found in deep-hued leafy greens.

The problem with eating the leaves is that they’re tender and tasty when the plant is young, but turn bitter after blooming… and growing celosia without getting them to flower means you’ll lose the biggest appeal of the plant – their flowers!

Flashy, uniquely-shaped flowers eschew any concept of subtlety. Expect shapes reminiscent of plumed candle flames, or coral, or something resembling a brain, all available in a wide