Cockscomb – Celosia argentea var. cristata

Common Name: Cockscomb, Brain Celosia

Botanical Name: Celosia argentea var. cristata, sel-O-see-a ar-JEN-tee-a cris-TAY-ta

Decorative Life: 5-14 days.

Flower Color: Pink, Red, Yellow

Availability: Fall, Summer

Harvest when flowers are about 50% open. Plugs can be stored for 2 weeks in the dark (3 weeks in light) at 50F and subsequently grown into very acceptable plants and/or flowers.

39 or 45F is better than 35F.

• Celosia is from the Greek word “kelos” which means burning and refers to the brightly colored and character of the flowers. The variety name ‘cristata’ means crested.
• Many members of the amaranth family are considered weeds such as pigweed, tumbleweed and water hemp.
• While not often grown as a potted flowering plant, Harbaugh and Waters (1979) reported that ‘Jewel Box’, ‘Golden Touch’ and ‘Kardinal’ performed well as potted plants under interior conditions.
• ‘Jewel Box’ is a favored cultivar and is available in mixed colors. Good as a dried flower. Remove leaves before drying.

Redman et al. (2002) report that this species does not tolerate cold storage for 1 week at 35F and therefore should be marketed as soon after harvest as possible.