Amaranth tricolor: the best varieties, growing tips

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Amaranth tricolor ( Amaranthus tricolor ) is an annual variety that is loved by many gardeners for its large bright multi-colored leaves that combine red, yellow and green colors. Belongs to the Amaranth family. In East Asia, it is used as a vegetable crop, the leaves are valued in ornamental horticulture. This variety usually occupies a special place in the garden, since large leaves, reminiscent of colorful fireworks, make it the accent of any composition. With it, you can effectively decorate an empty area.

Description

Amaranth tricolor is a lush bush of a pyramidal or spherical shape, reaching up to 150 cm in height. Shoots are straight, thick, highly branched, may be green or reddish. The leaves are oval-elongated or broadly oval, pointed at the end, with wavy edges and a smooth surface, up to 20 cm long, up to 15 cm wide.

Leaf plates are attached to the stem with a long petiole, arranged in a spiral. The color of the foliage is varied, depending on the variety, but each of them is distinguished by foliage with a bright color palette.

Inflorescences – dense panicles are formed in the leaf axils, consist of small flowers of green and scarlet color. The fruit is an achene with small black shiny seeds. The flowering of the variety lasts from the first days of summer to late autumn.

Varieties

Currently, tricolor amaranth varieties are very popular among gardeners, which is understandable. They make it possible to decorate the front garden or the territory of the backyard without much hassle, because the care of this crop is minimal. Among the most popular varieties are the following:

“Illumination” – the most beautiful variety of tricolor amaranth, which is a plant with powerful branching shoots, reaching 70 – 80 cm. It has large wide oval leaves of a red-orange hue. Over time, the foliage turns brown.

“Aurora” – is distinguished by expressive elliptical, wavy leaves along the edge of a golden yellow color.

“Samo Perfection” is a sought-after variety of tricolor amaranth, which retains its decorative effect throughout the summer season and right up to the very frosts. Reaches 50 cm in height. It has a straight branching strong stem with large foliage spirally located on it, combining four shades: red, orange, amber, emerald. Suitable for creating three-tiered flower beds.

“Perfecta” – characterized by elongated oval foliage, pointed at the end, combining red and yellow tones.

“Early Splendor” – distinguished by foliage of a pink-red hue.

“Brazilian Carnival” is an elegant variety of tricolor amaranth, which is a bush 50 cm high, consisting of thick straight shoots that form a cylindrical crown shape. The leaves, like other varieties of this culture, are large, ovoid, elongated, amber-green, red-crimson, pink, burgundy. Due to the bright multi-colored foliage, it is suitable for making all kinds of colorful compositions in the garden, it is used in single and group plantings.

“Molten Fire” – differs in that the upper part of the foliage is terracotta red, and the lower part is green with a transition to bronze. Looks very nice and unusual.

“Magnificent” – an early variety of tricolor amaranth, which is valued for its large, smooth, shiny leaves of a beautiful coral color. The bush is pyramidal in shape, 35 – 55 cm high. It consists of straight light green shoots covered with narrow lanceolate wavy foliage along the edge with pronounced veins. The flowers are collected in dense inflorescences – panicles, consisting of small flowers.

“Amazing” – a variety with wide oval foliage, the upper part of which is a rich scarlet color, the lower part is a brown color.

“Yellow” – an expressive variety of tricolor amaranth, reaching a height of about half a meter, with golden yellow foliage. Leaf plates are elliptical in shape, with a pointed base, wavy along the edge.

Cultivation

The cultivation of tricolor amaranth is carried out with the help of seeds, which are immediately planted in open ground after the disappearance of return frosts, or pre-planted on seedlings.

This method allows you to grow strong seedlings, which, after the establishment of warm weather, can be planted on the site without fear that they will take root poorly. Seeds are sown during the spring months.

Before planting seed in open ground, it is necessary to clear the area of weeds. The soil must be fertile, so fertilizer is applied in advance. For a better distribution of small seeds into the soil, they are mixed with ash before sowing, then buried in the ground by 1.5 cm.

With the seedling method, the seed is planted in the same way in containers filled with a loose nutrient soil mixture, and they must be covered with polyethylene on top. Store crops in a warm, bright place. Sprouts hatch under such conditions in 10-14 days. After the seedlings have a second full-fledged leaf, they dive into a larger container.

When the soil warms up well, the grown seedlings are planted on a plot at a distance of 40 cm from each other.

Care

When caring for this crop, it is important to remove weeds in a timely manner and irrigate. Without sufficient moisture, young plants will lose their decorative effect. However, excess moisture will negatively affect the condition of the plant, it will quickly begin to rot.

It is important to bear in mind that tricolor amaranth will maximize the brightness of the foliage only with sufficient lighting. For this reason, only open sunny areas without a hint of shade should be chosen for its cultivation. The place where this crop will grow must be protected from the winds.

Top dressing must be applied 3-4 times during the season, using mullein infusion diluted in water in a ratio of 1:5. It is useful to periodically add ash during irrigation, which is added to the water in a ratio of 200 g of the component per 10 liters.

Look at the following photo, which shows tricolor amaranth in all its brightness and luxurious beauty of foliage:

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