You really can’t deadhead celosias. You can clip off the main flower when it’s finished and hope some side shoots come up to fill its place, but once the flower turns brown and starts forming a seed head it’s done. That’s why I’ve been so pleased with Celosia ‘Arrabona Red’. This is a photo of one of my plants from June:
And here’s the same plant just a few days ago:
Do you think you could look this good after being out in the sun and wind and rain for three months? I think it’s simply amazing that a single flower can last that long.
‘Arrabona Red’ grows about 14 to 18 inches tall with scarlet flowers (they have an orange tinge when they first start blooming). The plants are very sturdy and compact with lots of side shoots. We had a very mild summer so I can’t attest personally to the cultivar’s drought and heat tolerance, but it’s supposed to be outstanding.
My plants didn’t have any pest or disease issues. I started them from seed indoors and was more than pleased with their germination rate.
Some celosia cultivars (‘Glorious Mix’ and ‘Chinatown’ come to mind) look sparse if you don’t almost plant them on top of one another, but ‘Arrabona Red’ really fills out nicely.
The bright-red plumes look great in all manner of color combinations. I planted mine in front of some pink cosmos and next to some purple annual asters.
I can’t wait to grow this outstanding performer again next summer.