Celosia ‘Fresh Look’
Celosia 'Fresh Look Red'
* Common name: Celosia ‘Fresh Look’
* Botanical name: Celosia plumosa ‘Fresh Look’
* What it is: A 4-color series of plume-flowered annuals that bloom all season until frost kills them. Best two are ‘Fresh Look Red’ and ‘Fresh Look Gold,’ both of which won 2004 All-America Selections awards.
* Size: 12 to 16 inches tall and wide.
* Where to use: Sunny front yards or front-foundation beds. They also can be spotted throughout perennial gardens for season-long color or grown in pots on a sunny deck.
* Care: Plant mid May to early June. Keep damp the first few weeks, then water weekly through summer if it doesn’t rain. Work compost and timed-release flower fertilizer into soil at planting. Supplemental liquid flower fertilizer every month or so throughout the growing season maximizes bloom but isn’t required. Yank and compost when finally browns out at end of fall.
* Great partner: Marigolds work well interplanted with celosia. Any evergreen (yew, boxwood, holly, juniper, etc.) makes a good backdrop plant.