Learning how to plant celosia might be an excellent idea for passionate UK plant parents like yourself. Celosia’s unique flowers add flair to any UK garden.
If you are looking for a flowering plant that lasts up to a month, celosia is an excellent choice with its stunning shapes and colours. Celosia is a perennial plant native to North Africa and is related to amaranth.
Even under the UK summer sun, it remains resolute to produce bountiful blooms for your UK garden. In winter, you can even dry some of its bright flowers for intricate dried flower arrangements.
Celosia Varieties
There are several varieties of celosia, but the three most common are cockscomb celosia (aka cristatas), Celosia Plumosa, and Celosia spicata, or wheat celosia.
Cockscomb Celosia is the type with crests of blooms that somehow looked wrinkled. You can find them in red, pink, magenta, orange, yellow, and a combination of these colours.
Celosia Plumosa is known for its soft feathery flowers in various hues, such as red, pink, magenta, yellow, and orange.
Wheat Celosia is as its name suggests, looks like wheat. It can self-sow in the right growing conditions and blooms in colours or red-purple and pink.
How to Plant Celosia from Seeds
You can grow celosia from seeds, no matter the variety. You can directly sow the seeds in your UK garden after the last frost, barely covering them. It will start to germinate within a week or two after the soil reaches 60-degree Fahrenheit.
While it is acceptable to grow celosia using other methods, planting from seeds is the preferred way. Planting from seeds is essential because the flowering plant doesn’t transplant well. It seems that celosia doesn’t like its roots getting disturbed.
How to plant celosia from seeds indoors
You may also grow celosia from seeds indoors. But in that case, it is advisable to grow them in individual pots. If not, biodegradable pots that you can plant into the UK garden directly is a better option.
Biodegradable pots will allow you to plant your celosia seedlings without disturbing their roots. The advice is to sow the seed in a container before your last frost, around 6 to 8 weeks. Make sure to keep the seedlings covered with a heat mat set at 70 to 75-degrees.
In this condition, your celosia will start to germinate within 1 to 2 weeks. When it finally does, you can begin transplanting it into your UK garden two weeks after the last frost. Since you are using a biodegradable pot, you can plant it directly.
Celosia Growing Tips
The most important tip about growing celosia is making sure it gets full sun. This blooming plant is tropical, after all. It needs its daily sun for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours to ensure it grows healthy.
One should also keep in mind that celosia must have well-drained soil. It does love moist soil, but it can be susceptible to root rot and can die if you overwater it. One does not need a raised bed for celosia, but it’s a good option.
If your soil has a lot of clay, you can add nutrients and drainage to it by mixing compost. Celosia needs to be watered well when planted, but not so much unless your area experiences an unusual drought.
Fertiliser is also not required, but you can add time-release fertiliser the first time you plant them. The only ever time it needs extra help is when your plant isn’t doing well. In that case, using a specially formulated fertiliser for flowers is ideal.
Why Should You Plant Your Celosia and Other Plants in a Mini Greenhouse?
There are several reasons why you should try planting your celosias and other plants in a mini-greenhouse, and here are some of them:
Mini greenhouses are portable and easy to customise
Mini greenhouses have a standard of 6 feet, but there are smaller options as well. The size gives you the freedom to use it where and how you want to. These greenhouses are portably and easy to assemble, perfect for beginners. You can place them in areas that get maximum sunlight and transfer them throughout the day.
Prevent pests and other animals
Moles, squirrels, birds, deer, insects and pests would love to eat and attack your plants. Keeping your plants in an enclosed space keeps them safe from harmful insects and animals. Additionally, you also reduce the need for chemicals and pesticides to ward off these critters.
Control the overall growing environment
One of the most notable benefits of greenhouses is that you can control the overall growing environment. With the help of heating and cooling systems, grow lights, fans, irrigation systems, and other polytunnel equipment, you’ll be able to adjust the temperature, humidity, and heat in your greenhouse. Adjusting means you’ll be able to plant warm or cold season plants regardless of the weather or season.
The Bottom Line on How to Plant Celosia
As you can see, learning how to plant celosia is not difficult at all. Although spicata grows tall, crostatas and plumosa celosias are shorter and stockier. It makes them great container plants that you can have in your UK garden or indoors.