Amaranth Seeds - Love Lies Bleeding
(Amaranthus caudatus) Annual. 75 days to maturity.
A dramatic name for a dramatic plant! Stunningly tall plants bear long, crimson flowers. A great flower for layered gardens & flower arrangements.
And now for some poetry:
Love Lies Bleeding - William Woodsworth 1845
You call it, Love Lies Bleeding,
-- so you may,
Though the red Flower, not prostrate, only droops,
As we have seen it here from day to day,
From month to month, life passing not away:
A flower how rich in sadness! Even thus stoops,
(Sentient by Grecian sculpture's marvelous power)
Thus leans, with hanging brow and body bent
Earthward in uncomplaining languishment
The dying Gladiator. So, sad Flower!
('T is Fancy guides me willing to be led,
Though by a slender thread,)
So drooped Adonis bathed in sanguine dew
Of his death-wound, when he from innocent air
The gentlest breath of resignation drew;
While Venus in a passion of despair
Rent, weeping over him, her golden hair
Spangled with drops of that celestial shower.
She suffered, as Immortals sometimes do;
But pangs more lasting far, that Lover knew
Who first, weighed down by scorn, in some lone bower
Did press this semblance of unpitied smart
Into the service of his constant heart,
His own dejection, downcast Flower! could share
With thine, and gave the mournful name which thou wilt ever bear.
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Growth Habit: Upright growth up to 8 feet with an abundance of round to heart shaped leaves and draping flower clusters. Taller plants may need stakes for support.
Sun Requirements: Full sun, thrives in hot, humid conditions
Soil Preference: Average, well-drained soil
When to Plant: Direct seed in late Spring after risk of frost has passed OR start indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost date.
How to Plant:
Direct sow: sow seeds in soil, ⅛” deep, covering only very lightly as seed needs light to germinate. Keep soil moist until germination. Seeds should germinate in 10-14 days. Thin young plants 1-2 feet apart.
Transplant: sow seeds in containers ⅛” deep, covering only very lightly with soil as seeds need light to germinate. Keep soil moist under germination. Seeds should germinate in 10-14 days. Transplant out after risk of frost. Space young plants 1-2 feet apart.
When to Harvest: Harvest baby leaves as a microgreen; tender green leaves once the plant reaches at least 1 foot; cut flowers when nearly fully open through Summer and into Fall; seeds when they ripen in late Summer to early Fall.
How to Harvest: Cut baby leaves or pick mature tender greens as needed. Cut flowers on long stems, remove lower leaves to prevent premature wilt. Cut seeds heads and bundle them to dry indoors in a dry, dark space. You can knock the bundles inside of paper bags to easily gather seeds as they fall, then separate the yummy seeds from the papery chaff.
Uses: Amaranth has edible leaves, flowers, and seeds. Enjoy baby leaves as a microgreen, larger leaves as a tender cooked green, and finally the seeds as a high protein, gluten-free grain or flour. The mature, drapey flowers are beautiful in fresh cut flower arrangements, including floral crowns.
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