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Amaranth 'Joseph's Coat'
Amaranth 'Joseph's Coat'
Seed Packet

Amaranth 'Joseph's Coat'

Amaranthus tricolor
Large-leaved amaranth Joseph's Coat has beautiful foliage in vivid color combinations. Beloved since Elizabethan times in England, when old herbals described it, "every leaf resembles in color the most fair and beautiful feather of a parrot." A featured plant of Monticello's floral gardens, this ever-popular plant has beautiful foliage in vivid combinations of yellow, scarlet, and green that develop in summer on the upper leaves of this sturdy, large-leaved edible annual. A heat lover that thrives in the high humidity of full summer, it is lovely paired with grasses and salvias in the border.
SKU #S976
$3.50
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Details
Approximate Seeds Per Packet
750
Lifecycle
Annual
Annual Hardiness
Half Hardy Annual
Mature Size
3-4' h x 1.5'
Sun
Full sun
Soil
Regular to rich, well-drained
Season
Summer
Color
Tricolor foliage develops during the summer months.
Features
Heat or Drought Tolerant
SOWING INSTRUCTIONS
Depth:
Barely cover 1/16"
Sprout Time:
3-14 days
Seed To Bloom:
12 weeks
Starting Indoors:
Six weeks before last frost, sow thinly into pots filled with a mix specifically for seed germination. Keep at 65-75°F with evenly moist conditions by placing a humidity dome over the containers until germination occurs, or by sprinkling a thin cover of vermiculite over the pots.
Starting Outdoors:
Direct sow after last frost.
WHEN TO SET OUTSIDE
After all danger of frost has passed.
PLACEMENT & CULTIVATION
Amaranth 'Joseph's Coat' is a heat-loving plant that thrives in summer's high humidity and in lower fertility soils. While it can grow larger in rich soils, this comes at the expense of its foliage color. If you plan to transplant this plant, be careful, as young plants may resent root disturbance. In addition to its ornamental qualities, 'Joseph's Coat' has leaves that are a nutritious vegetable used in various cuisines, including Chinese, Asian, Indian, West African, and Caribbean.
Final Spacing:
1.5'
Water Requirements:
Low Water Use
Watering Details:
Drought tolerant. 1" a week until established; then water during dry spells.
Soil pH:
Slightly acidic to neutral
Fertilizer:
If soils are particularly poor, mix in an organic granular fertilizer once seedlings have reached 6-8" in height. Avoid excess fertilizer.
Diseases & Pests:
Tarnished plant bugs can infest flower heads. Use an organic insecticide to control. Provide freely-draining soils, for, in wet soils, emerging seedlings may die from soil pathogens. Overly moist soils also encourage various fungal root and stem rots on mature plants, causing collapse.