I winter-sowed just a few seeds last year. I only put out 3 plants and gave the rest away. I've started seeds again this year and the container is chock full. Very easy seed to germinate and grow. I winter sow all my plants, so I can't speak for direct sow.

The mature plant was spectacular. One did better than the others. It was the focal point of that garden; everyone commented on it.

I did find it needs staking to look its best. However, not staking did add a "twist" so to speak to its appearance. It's a large plant and can take up a lot of space, but in my mind well worth it.

Pretty dang cool. Had one a couple years ago that got over 4 feet tall. You could stick your head under those flowers and it looked like you had 2 foot long rose/purple dreadlocks.
And there's lots of varieties, with striking shapes.
This year I sowed "Towers", "Elephant Head", "Hopi Red Dye", and maybe some others. Seeds of Change has a good selection of varieties. Their catalog is online.
They like warmth to germinate and grow.
They set massive amounts of seeds. Birds love the seeds as Winter food. Humans make grain or some sort of similar food from the seeds as well.
Fascinating plant. Worth learning more about.

{{gwi:7331}}

Here in my zone I have to start them indoors, just sowed them the other day to be transplanted outdoors June 1st. I don't stake, just plant close together against something.

I'm also trying a new one this year called Amaranthus caudatus Velvet Curtains.

Once you get this plant you will always have it. It self sows readily and is quite beautiful. The one I have has dark red leaves and often gets over 5' tall. I love it

...they sure do bring alot of attention! I wintersowed mine for the first time last year and once out in the garden they took off growing to about 4 1/2 to 5' tall...I pinched mine back at about 12" to get bushier specimens with lots of tassles on side branches and never needed to stake...it's very windy here :)
You can have fun harvesting tons of seed...I did for trades, but never sown anymore my self as I wanted to see how they would self-sow in my garden...well, I got lots of little seedlings! Also thought I'd throw this out: The current issue of Mother Earth News has an article on growing the different Amaranthus as grain crops too; pretty neat:)
Wintersowed Amaranthus 'Intense Purple' this year.

Vera

This is one of our oldest garden plants--has been grown for centuries--but goes in and out of fashion. Nice to see it again.

Better than cool, its beautiful, unusual, vital even in some shade and fecund to boot. Cool rarely posseses so many real-life virtues.

Its one annual I want every year. Last year I made the mistake of not sowing some indoors and found that my previous year's reseeding only gave me one. One! And one is not enough. This year, and following years, I plan have sufficient amaranth.

Moral of the story -- don't take reseeding for granted.

Springcherry

Very very very cool. It's a great plant and I can't say enough good things about it. This year, I am trying to grow Joseph's Coat and Aurora with seeds shared with gardening friends in New York and Kentucky. It's a winter sowing labor of love and I can't wait to see the results. Oh yes, I'm growing Hot Biscuits from my Kentucky friend as well.

Enjoy and explore!

I planted a few as a companion plant to my beans. But I think I may need to thin the seedlings. My last count was a cluster of about 9 plants. Should I thin or leave it the way it is?

Extremely cool. I draped some of their drooping velvety sprays over a mirror in my foyer. I want to make a swag using them this year as a valance over a window that has a tapestry drape. A dried floral arrangement would also be nice for such a dramatic plant!

"Love lies bleeding". Where do plants get these names???

Attempting this plant again after a long hiatus. Just never had any luck w/ them before. Tried several times from seed. Always got decent germination but plants always up and died when only a couple inches tall. No cutworm or anything. This season picked up a 4 pack at a nursery. Figure try it one last time.

Very easy to grow, and lovely to look at. I've also grown the green ones as well as the red ones. Seems it was more popular on the east coast as opposed to the west coast, but does better for me here on the wet coast.