Growing Amaranthus (Love-Lies-Bleeding): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Amaranthus is an ornamental relative of the vegetable amaranths, grown not for its leaves but for its long, rope-like tassels of tiny flowers, deep red in the classic “love-lies-bleeding” form that gives the plant its common name.
Keep the transplants cool
Germination takes 7 to 10 days at 70-75°F, but once seedlings are up, grow them cool, around 62-65°F, rather than warm. Warm conditions push soft, leggy growth that doesn’t hold up once the plant is outside. Transplant 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost, or direct-seed after frost danger has passed. Space plants 12 to 15 inches apart, tighter at 3 to 6 inches for a row of thinner, more upright stems.
Two harvest points
For fresh arrangements, cut once about three-quarters of the flowers on a tassel have opened. For dried arrangements, wait longer, until the seed has set and the flowers feel firm rather than soft to the touch; cutting too early leaves them limp as they dry.
Amaranthus has no recorded companions or antagonists in our data. See the full companion guide for amaranthus for how it’s tracked. Its height and dramatic form make it a good back-row anchor in the Garden Designer, planned alongside shorter cut-flower rows in front.
Source: Amaranthus: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Amaranthus (Love-Lies-Bleeding) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Amaranthus (Love-Lies-Bleeding) tolerates either.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Amaranthus (Love-Lies-Bleeding) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 3-5 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Love-Lies-Bleeding' amaranthus: Johnny's Selected Seeds sells Amaranthus caudatus under this name for its classic long, drooping, deep-red tassels, a Victorian-era garden favorite and their main offering of this particular species. (source)
Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.
Where to buy amaranthus seeds
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a genuine consensus of positive, independent reviews. See the sources cited on each item.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing amaranthus (love-lies-bleeding)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
%3A%20An%20ornamental%20grain-family%20relative%20of%20vegetable%20amaranth%2C%20grown%20for%20its%20long%2C%20dramatic%20tassels%20of%20deep%20red%20flowers%20rather%20than%20for%20eating.)
Pin this for later
Growing Amaranthus (Love-Lies-Bleeding): An ornamental grain-family relative of vegetable amaranth, grown for its long, dramatic tassels of deep red flowers rather than for eating.
Save to Pinterest