Amaranthus caudatus Pony Tails Mixed - Love-Lies-Bleeding

Capable of transforming into a fountain of flowers, Amaranthus caudatus Pony Tails unfold to create graceful, deep red or pale green, long trailing panicles that reach the ground, in perfect chromatic harmony. These annuals bloom in apotheosis, from late summer to autumn, bringing a lot of grandeur and majesty to flower pots or perennial beds. They are also excellent flowers for bouquets. They grow quickly, appreciate well-drained, nitrogen-rich soils, and warm exposures.

Native to South America, from the Andes to southern Ecuador through Bolivia and Peru, Amaranthus caudatus is an herbaceous annual plant in the Amaranthaceae family. It is cultivated for ornamental purposes, but also, to a lesser extent, as a cereal plant. The Pony Tails mix brings together the two most commonly found versions in nature: intensely deep red flowers of great richness, and, on other plants, pale green to creamy green flowers. This surprising flowering takes place in late summer and autumn. The tiny flowers without petals, adorned with colourful bracts, are gathered in trailing panicles 30 cm (12in) long, sometimes more, carried by plants that are 90 cm (35in) to 1.20 m (4ft) tall. The plants grow quickly. The thick, reddish, unbranched stems bear large, soft leaves, 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6in) long, ovate to lanceolate, alternate, with very prominent veins, in shades ranging from matte green to purple.

Amaranthus caudatus are theatrical flowers, with a dramatic temperament that is expressed in the heart of perennial beds and stands out in large pots on patios, playing the role of an ephemeral bush. They enhance the simple blooms of field daisies, accompany the gleaming suns of Echinaceas. These plants will make a sensation when planted in groups of three to five subjects in the midst of a groundcover plant carpet such as Cerastostima plumbaginoides or Ajuga reptans.