Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Plant of the day-Gomphrena globosa

Globe Amaranth/Bachelor Button
Gomphrena globosa

Globe Amaranth is a fun little flower that can add a bright pop of color to your planters. It's a mounding annual, attracts butterflies and is very hardy.

They need full sun and are drought tolerant (although they're a fan of regular watering)

These are a long blooming flower so if you put them in during the spring, you can enjoy them all the way until fall. As a bonus, you can dry these flowers and they'll look basically the same as they do while they're blooming. I have a purple specimen featured here but you cal also get red, white, lilac and pink flowers.

Fun facts
  • On Brother's Day, in Nepal, sisters may use the flowers for a garland for their brothers which represents protection.  
  • The seeds are used as a food source in some parts of South America and can be used to make flour and beers.
  • The flowers have been used to make a tea thought to treat gripe, coughs and diabetes.
















No comments:

Post a Comment