Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)
Also known as: Love-lies-bleeding · 12 sources cited · Verified
The short answer
- Ready in
- 90–100 days
- Site
- soil pH 5.5–7.5
- Biggest risk
- Damping-off
In the UK, love-lies-bleeding amaranth are ready to harvest 90–100 days after planting.
Love-lies-bleeding amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) — Annual.
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural and university-extension sources — see References.
At a Glance
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 5.5 - 7.5 |
| Germination temp | 21C |
| Optimal growing temp | 21-28C |
| Minimum survivable temp | 0C |
| Time to harvest | 90-100 days |
| Soil texture | Chalk, clay, loam, sand (unfussy) |
| Drainage | Moist but well-drained, or well-drained |
| Lifecycle | Annual. |
| Edible parts | seeds, leaves |
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment | 0 | Grown from very small seed — sow no more than ¼–½in (0.5–1cm) deep, in-situ in mid-spring once the danger of frost has passed. Amaranth germinates best at soil temperatures of 18–24°C (65–75°F) (UIC Heritage Garden). RHS advises propagating by seed sown in-situ in mid-spring, thinning seedlings to 60cm apart; for grain-scale culture UIC gives rows 45–60cm apart. Choose a warm, sheltered, full-sun site with moist but well-drained soil. This species is frost-tender (RHS hardiness H2) and will not survive freezing, so do not sow until frost has passed. |
| Vegetative Growth | 3 | Plants grow quickly into upright, bushy annuals, typically 1–1.5m tall with a 0.5–1m spread, carrying large ovate leaves (RHS). Grow in full sun; keep the soil moist during dry spells — the plant is drought-resistant once established but crops best with steady moisture — and work in organic matter to promote strong leafy growth. |
| Flowering | 6 | From midsummer into autumn the plants produce long, drooping, crimson, tassel-like flower racemes made up of thousands of tiny flowers (RHS). Each amaranth flower head can carry up to 60,000 seeds (UIC Heritage Garden). |
| Fruit Development | 7 | Seed heads develop from the drooping racemes after flowering (RHS); amaranth seed typically ripens about three months after sowing (UIC Heritage Garden). |
| Ripening / Harvest | 8 | For ornamental use, cut the flower spikes fresh or hang them to dry for arrangements as their colour develops (RHS). For grain, wait until the seed heads are dry, then gently but briskly rub or shake a head between your hands to check the seed falls readily (UIC Heritage Garden); seed heads left standing are attractive to birds (RHS). Grain amaranth generally is left until a killing frost and a week of dry weather, then stored at about 11% moisture (Purdue NewCROP). |
| Senescence / Dormancy | 9 | A frost-tender annual (RHS hardiness H2), the plant dies back after seeding or is killed by the first hard frost and does not survive freezing (RHS). It self-seeds readily; save clean, dry seed to sow again the following spring. |
Harvest & Storage
Diseases
Pests
Love-Lies-Bleeding, Habit to Harvest
References
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country=INTL
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country=INTL
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States Amaranth = Amaranthus caudatus, common name "Pigweed", cited to an RHS URL. That URL was checked this session and returns empty/dead -- citation hygiene issue, matches Phase 0's general finding about this document. Preserved for provenance of the dispute, not counted as an independent verification source.
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country=UK
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country=US
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General fungal/oomycete seedling-disease mechanism (Pythium, Rhizoctonia spp.), not amaranth-specific; used as a reusable cross-crop disease reference.
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country=US
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country=UK
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country=UK
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Tier 1. Short-season field study, the closest published analogue to Prairie conditions: amaranth sown at Prosper, North Dakota in the first week of June; first seed shatter 15 September (1993) and 14 October (1994); harvest before a killing frost was not feasible because of high moisture in the sample; grain yield decreased as harvest was delayed beyond first seed shatter, especially after a killing frost; amaranth should be harvested as soon as possible after a killing frost to reduce yield loss and maximise seed germination; the cooler 1993 season yielded 20-40% of 1994 at the same harvest dates.
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country=US
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country=INTL
12 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do love-lies-bleeding amaranth take to grow?
Typically 90–100 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do love-lies-bleeding amaranth need?
A pH of about 5.5–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect love-lies-bleeding amaranth?
Our data links 1 disease and 1 pest to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.
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