Celosia Kelos Fire Purple - Silver cock's comb

The Celosia Kelos Fire Purple is perhaps the most dramatic of this series of Kelos Fire celosias. This variety produces plumes of flowers with rich shades of purple, pink, and violet, in harmony with more or less purple foliage. Like its sisters, it has a compact habit and blooms for three months in summer. A perennial but frost-tender plant, it is often grown as an annual in rich, moist soil and full sun. It brings a real touch of elegance to borders, edging, and containers, and also makes a lovely conservatory plant. To accompany it, choose plants with a more understated appearance, with light flowers and foliage.

The Celosia argentea plumosa, also known as Feathered Celosia or Velvet Flower, belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, and is related to cockscombs as well as beets. The wild species is native to Central and South America. A frost-tender herbaceous perennial, it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It has given rise to many cultivars, including the Plumosa group, with feathery flowers, to which the Kelos Fire Purple variety belongs.

The Kelos Fire Purple celosia forms a clump of leafy stems reaching barely 35 cm (14in) in height, with a spread of 40-45 cm (16-18in), in just 9 to 10 weeks. The flowering, spectacular, begins in June-July and continues until September. At the tips of the stems, conical plume-like spikes appear, 10-12 cm (4-5in) tall, held above the foliage. They consist of small flowers surrounded by plume-like bracts in vibrant and luminous colours. These shimmering spikes create an eruption of uncommonly vivid colours, capable of enlivening any flower bed. The leaves of the celosia are large. In this Fire Purple variety, they are a purplish-washed olive green. They are broad and lanceolate, with prominent veins, arranged alternately on the stems, and are edible.

The Kelos Fire Purple celosia is perfect for fresh or dried bouquets, as the flower retains its beautiful colours for a long time. To dry the flowers, hang them upside down in a shady place for two months. In flower beds, borders, or large containers, you can pair it with ivy, common lady's mantle, or fennel to enhance its plumes and tone down its vibrant colors. You can also mix different varieties of feathered celosias to play with colours.

The leaves and seeds are used as food plants in Latin America. The plant also has medicinal properties; it is particularly known for its hemostatic properties (it stops bleeding).

Note: Please be aware that our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them in a sheltered place (conservatory, greenhouse, cold frame) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before planting them outdoors once the risk of frost has passed.