If you’re seeking a hardy and cheerful bloom to add color and texture to your garden, gomphrena is a top pick. Flower farmer Briana Yablonski shares how to grow and care for this unique annual.One of my favorite aspects of flowers is the wide variety of shapes and colors they come in. Round flowers like daisies and coneflowers have a classic shape, and spikes like snapdragons and delphinium add height to the garden and bouquets. And gomphrena’s spherical blooms add a unique element to gardens and bouquets.
Also known as globe amaranth, gomphrena produces many small, round flowers that are beautiful when fresh and dried. They come in a wide range of colors, so you can likely find one you’ll love. These annuals can also tolerate high temperatures, making them great flowers for the summer garden.
Whether you’re looking for an easy-to-care-for flower for your garden or a long-lasting bloom for arrangements, gomphrena is a great choice. Gomphrena is a member of the amaranth family that produces spherical flowers. It’s a warm-season annual that thrives from late spring to early fall in most locations. Like many types of amaranth, it can tolerate heat and drought better than many flowers.
The plants are often grown for cutting flowers since they hold up well when fresh and dried. Gardeners also plant them for their long bloom time and ability to attract pollinators.Gomphrena produces stiff stems that grow in a branching pattern. The stems are covered with oblong leaves covered with short, fuzzy hairs. A small, spherical flower appears at the top of each stem.
The round flowers are made up of stiff, papery bracts that retain their shape and texture over time. The blooms come in many colors, including pink, lilac, orange, white, and red.