Tall,red stalk,red leaves, plumes little black seeds

15 years ago

I have little, very small, black seeds from a plant my grandmother had in Georgia. They were about 6 foot tall,

with red leaves, red stalks, had large plumes that turned

brown and produced millions of tiny seeds that birds loved.

She planted them for the birds, and simply raked the seeds

in the dirt in the fall. They were very pretty plants.

I have had the seeds in a mason jar for about 30 years and

try to germinate some this year outside in soil with zero

results.

Anyone have any idea what the plant may be?

Any ideas on getting them to grow?

Thanks.

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Comments (14)

carol23_gw
15 years ago
An Amaranthus?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:265408}}
User
15 years ago
"Any ideas on getting them to grow?"

Buy fresh seeds, yours are dead.

HTH
Chris
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Several years ago there were a lot of people getting seed from a plant that was traded as "Yvonne's Salvia" which was a great huge plant with bright red flowers. I got some of the seed and mine didn't grow as big but the flowers were as advertised. It didn't come back for me the next year but I had saved seed and kept it going for a few years, then something happened, I don't remember what, and I either didn't get the seed saved or lost what I had. I had mole problems at the house we lived at in town before moving out here so maybe that had something to do with it. I've had a peach and white salvia that would self-seed every year but I've lost it now, too. The only one I have now is a "black and blue" and it winters over in a protected spot against the brick wall on the south side of the house. It's not supposed to be winter hardy past zone 7, but the last two winters were mild, and I had it mulched heavily it's first winter when we had that one freaky minus 23 degree morning caused by all that freaky snow we got. That was the winter I stepped in a hole after the snow melted, we had dug rock out of it for a tree that didn't end up surviving, and it was muddy. I went down into the hole with one leg up to my knee, my Croc filled with mud and I lost it and had to lay down on the ground to retrieve it. It would've been pretty comical to see and I'm not sure anyone did, but if they had I don't think they would've told me. Anyway, this is Black and Blue's third winter here and if it survives to next spring I will have to do some trimming on it because it got really big this year. The bees and hummingbirds really love salvia.
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remy_gw
15 years ago
Some varieties of Celosia get very tall too. There are all red varieties. Celosia is related to amaranthus.
Remy
Central_Cali369
15 years ago
It could be Amaranthus Caudatus. It is native of Tropical America, but it has naturalized in many areas, including mine. I usually wack them back to about four inches off of the ground so that they spread horizontally instead of vertically, but if i let them grow as they wish, they can get pretty tall. Here's a picture of some amaranthus caudatus for you to compare. Remember that i hack mine back pretty far to get the horizontal growth.

Here they are all over the floor. The ones to the right were mowed over, and the ones on the left weren't, so they are taller.
{{gwi:265418}}

And here's another one on the left hand side, before the plumes (flowers)
{{gwi:265420}}

Compare your grandmother's plants with the ones in the photos.
annewalker
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the help...

But I am 6'1" and these thing were as tall as I
am...

I am now trying to find tricks of getting seed to
grow....

There is some use of tea to help them started...
remy_gw
15 years ago
Hi Anne,
Did it looks like this?
{{gwi:265422}}
Remy
elaineal
15 years ago
Remy
Are the plants in your red bed Celosia? I have one in my
bed and didn't know what it was. It is 5ft tall. Sure
does not look like my other Celosia.
remy_gw
15 years ago
Elaine,
No that is a red Amaranth in a friend's garden that gets really big. There are celosias that get really big. I got seeds from a trader over the winter for one that looks like Pink Flamingo on steroids. Most of the big celosias are old heirlooms. The newer ones companies come out with are shorter bedding varieties.
Remy
annewalker
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the help, and the pictures. But none of
the pictures looked like the plant.

It actually looked more like a red corn stalk, with
plumes.
flora_uk
15 years ago
I was wondering whether it might actually have been a grain rather than a herbaceous plant. Some kind of Sorgum? Millet?
remy_gw
15 years ago
Anne,
Are the seeds like tiny teardrops? If so then it was a millet as Flora suggested. Purple Majesty is a popular one out now. I don't know of a red one off hand, but I'm sure some exist.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Page with Purple Majesty Millet
daisy_lee
15 years ago
Hi Anne,

I have an Amaranthus that sounds like the one that you described. If you send me your e-mail address, I can send you a picture of mine and if it is the same as what your grandmother had I will be happy to send you seeds! By the way they are very easy to germinate.

Carol
SusanC
15 years ago
It sounds very much like Amaranthus cruentus, 'Hopi Red Dye'. -It gets to be 6 feet tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:265413}}
remy_gw
15 years ago
Susan,
Lol, my pic disappeared(I don't know what I did,)but it is also of a large red amaranth. The original poster never responded to say if it was or wasn't an amaranth.
Here's the pic again.
{{gwi:265423}}
Remy

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Tall,red stalk,red leaves, plumes little black seeds

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