Gomphrena haagenana QIS® Carmine Seeds - Globe Amaranth

Gomphrena QIS Carmine is a horticultural variety of a Mexican perennial plant cultivated as an annual. Spring sowing under heated cover produces young plants that flower throughout the summer in the garden. Also known as Scarlet Gomphrena, it forms bushy clumps that send up several upright stems towards the sky. Each is topped by a solitary, clover-like flower whose vivid carmine pink is beautifully highlighted by the slightly greyish green foliage. Very ornamental when planted en masse, it also makes superb bouquets for the vase.

Scarlet Amaranth, scientific name Gomphrena haageana, belongs to the botanical family Amaranthaceae, which is rich with 174 genera and over 2000 species. Very widespread in tropical climates, they are often herbaceous plants, some of which are annuals. In our gardens, they have both vegetable and ornamental uses; the family is represented by spinach and the popular Celosias, used for bedding displays. The Gomphrena genus comprises around a hundred wild species, herbaceous or suffruticose (undershrubs), originating mainly from North and South America, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Gomphrena haageana grows naturally in Mexico, on rocky slopes, at an altitude of 1200 to 1500 m. There are several horticultural varieties, including Gomphrena QIS Carmine, which takes its name from the carmine pink colour of its flowers. This fast-growing plant flowers less than 100 days after sowing. Each plant produces several stems that grow vertically up to 80 cm in height. They bear opposite, lanceolate and narrow leaves, measuring approximately 5 cm long, and a fairly dark green, leaning slightly towards grey. The stems bear only one globular, terminal flower, about 2 cm in diameter. The vivid colour of the flowers is perfectly highlighted by the darker foliage. It is best to sow this plant en masse, so the small size of the flowers is compensated for by their number, and the effect achieved is very ornamental. Flowering begins in July and continues until September, sometimes even October. The long stems are perfectly suited for making original and long-lasting bouquets. Used in dried bouquets, the flowers retain their colour and can decorate the home for weeks after the main growing season.

Sow Gomphrena QIS Carmine en masse to ensure months of original and beautiful flowers. Plant them in full sun, in the second row of your beds, alongside Cosmos 'Sonata White' which will create a lovely contrast of form and colour. In front, sow Love-in-a-mist 'Miss Jekyll Blue', a slightly shorter annual with sumptuous pale blue flowers, which will accompany your Gomphrena, also known as Amarantoïde, to form superb bouquets. In the background you could plant Salvia 'Black and Blue', a spectacular variety that will captivate you with its giant size and astonishing blue and black flowers.