Growing Amaranth, also Love-lies-bleeding

Amaranthus caudatus : Amaranthaceae / the amaranth family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      S S S S          
      T T T T T        
      P P P P P        

(Best months for growing Amaranth in Australia - tropical regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 18°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 50 cm apart
  • Harvest in 7-8 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Onions, corn, peppers, egg plant, tomatoes
  • Amaranth flowers
  • Amaranth seedling (CC BY-SA 3.0 Bruce Ackley, Ohio State University)

Amaranth species are frequently grown as flower plants and have many colour variations.

Amaranth tricolor is known as Chinese spinach and has an insignificant flower.

Needs a warm sunny position. Avoid heavy soils. Poor germination rates are common.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Amaranth

Both leaves and seeds can be used. Excessive intake is not recommended.
Suggestions for use and warnings can be found here http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth

Your comments and tips

09 Mar 23, Collie_Handyman 46 (Australia - temperate climate)
amaranth should grow in Darwin in the Dry season it germinates in the south west south of Perth in march Darwin temp never gets below 17 deg in June and July I lived in Humpty Doo south of Darwin and grew it and Rosellas for about 30 years used to add the seeds to Homemade bread .
28 Mar 21, Sithy (Australia - temperate climate)
Can we eat and cook amaranath love lies bleeding
23 Apr 21, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Sithy. You can eat Amaranth leaves and seeds. Cook the leaves. Add seeds to whatever you want. Do NOT eat raw! Do not eat stalks. Information here, on Gardenate indicates it is edible.
19 May 20, Pat obrien (Australia - tropical climate)
Is there a variety of amaranth that could be more suitable for growing in the cooler Months in the tropics?
21 May 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Further to yesterday's advice. You could go on the internet and spends hours trying to find your answer. I have never seen it or grown it. Best to ask some flowering society or agricultural dept. From my knowledge and experience most plants need a certain temperature range to germinate and then temperature range/climate to grow. That is why some plants are recommended to grow in spring in some climates and other climates it might be summer or winter.
29 Jul 19, Shirley Petkau (New Zealand - temperate climate)
How can I harvest seeds from the Amaranth
29 Jul 19, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Try tying a large paper bag over the flowerhead when it looks ready to change to seeds.
30 Jun 19, Dianne (Australia - tropical climate)
Just an idea for folks looking to get red garnet amaranth seeds... Mr Fothergills sells a pack of microgreens called Flavours Of West Europe, which includes a pack of red garnet amaranth, along with cress and morgan field peas. It was the only Amaranth variety that Bunnings seems to sell, but I also figured it would be worth growing cress and field peas as well to see how well they do in my current growing situation.
05 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Where did amaranths orginate from
06 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Amaranth originated in Central America and was used by the Aztecs for thousands of years. It is often called an 'ancient grain' but is not actually a cereal. Trust this helps.
Showing 1 - 10 of 67 comments

Amaranth is best sown into the spot it will grow and left alone. If it is in a pot, you can just leave it and it will flower and seed for you to collect more seeds when the flowers dry out and then you can plant more wherever you like the next time you sow :) Beautiful plant with very striking colours.

- Damien

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.