Growing Guide
 
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Love Lies Bleeding

Annual Flower

Also known as Tassel flower
Amaranthus caudatus
Amaranthaceae Family
Synonym: A. dussi, A. elegantissima, A. margaritae, A. superbus

Bold and unusual, Love-Lies-Bleeding provides a powerful garden statement with its large size and cascading tassels of flowers.

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Site Characteristics
Sunlight:
  • full sun
Plant Traits

Lifecycle: annual

Ease-of-care: moderately difficult

Can grow luxuriously in one part of a garden, while seeming to struggle under the same growing conditions in another part of the garden.

Height: 3 to 5 feet

In rare situations, may even grow taller than 5 feet.

Spread: 1.5 to 2.5 feet

Bloom time:

  • mid-summer
  • late summer
  • early fall

Flower color: red

Foliage color: light green

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: loose and formless

Shape in flower: flower stalks with flowers hanging downward

The 2’ long flower stalks hang downward and are very persistent, keeping their color for 6 to 8 weeks and providing excellent fall color in the garden.

Special Considerations
Special characteristics:
  • non-aggressive
  • non-invasive
  • not native to North America - Africa, India and Peru
Special uses:
  • dried flowers - While they dry quite easily, the red color will not persist in the dried state,but will turn a bronze or light brown color.
  • edible landscaping
  • direct-seeding
Growing Information
How to plant:

Propagate by seed - Plant seed directly outdoors after last frost, or indoors 8 to 10 weeks before last frost. Very sensitive to crowded roots in cell-type seedling starters -- will impede the plant from developing and flowering if roots are crowded. If this happens, separate roots and spread out in planting hole.

Germination temperature: 68 F to 70 F

Maintenance and care:
Even though this plant tolerates poor soil, keep it watered during summer dry spells.

More growing information: How to Grow Annuals

Pests:
Snails
Slugs
Japanese beetles
Varieties
‘Fat Spike’: 3 to 4’ tall plants with thick, erect spikes of deep reddish purple rising above the medium green foliage.

‘Viridis’: electric green, pendulous flower stalks on 3 to 4’ tall plants.

‘Golden Giant’: thick, pendulous flower stalks with golden flowers on 4’ tall plants