Last summer I was blown away by the performance of Celosia ‘Arrabona Red’, but Celosia ‘Chinatown’ wasn’t far behind. I first tried ‘Chinatown’ in 2008, but I thought the plants were a tad scrawny-looking. After growing ‘Chinatown’ over a few more summers I’ve decided that the plants would look best crammed tightly together. It eliminates any of that chicken-leg look.
‘Chinatown’ has stunning, bright-red plumes that appear on medium-sized plants. Several seed catalogs put the growth in the 14-16″ range while others mention a height as tall as 24 inches. My plants ranged from 14 inches to 24 inches last summer. I stuck them in the second and third rows of my flowerbeds.
What I really like about this annual is the purply-red foliage that really stands out against all the other light and dark greens of neighboring plants.
‘Chinatown’ appreciates full sun, but it will also perform admirably in partial-shade. The plants have no disease problems and shrug off heat. And best of all, those beautiful blooms last a very long time.